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8.11.01 Water problems will linger The weather has cooled off a bit, but Omaha's water problems linger on. Metropolitan Utilities District customers can expect them to hang around, particularly if conditions are dry, until the new Platte West water treatment plant is built and pumping. The voluntary water conservation program M.U.D. asked of its customers in recent weeks, which included alternate-day lawn watering, has helped, thanks to good customer compliance, officials said. But more conservation, or worse, may be in the metro area's future, even if construction should begin on the plant soon. One problem is that the existing water plants are located in eastern Omaha and most of the city's new growth is to the west, southwest and northwest. That means the plants, one in Florence on the Missouri River and one on the Platte in southern Sarpy County, have to pump more and more water uphill, farther, to get to homes and businesses. That is why water pressure has been below par in some areas recently. Another problem is that the two plants, which pump a total of 218 million gallons per day, can't adequately handle peak flows, for instance on 98-degree summer days when people are watering lawns, washing cars and filling pools. M.U.D. pumps from its reservoirs, which are dwindling, to make up the difference. The 100-million-gallon Platte West plant will wipe away both problems at one stroke. Jerry Radek, general manager of the utility, said there was another problem caused by the delays in getting Platte West built. The rest of the system, that portion of it that serves western Omaha and its growing suburbs, at least, was designed and built as though the Platte West plant were going to be there. Its pipes are sized for that plant and are inadequate for the amount of water that must flow through them from the eastern water plants. So everything depends on Platte West. And Platte West depends, at the moment, on the Army Corps of Engineers, which is due to issue an environmental impact statement that is necessary before the plant proceeds. M.U.D. has already made concessions to keep the plant on track. For instance, because the new facility would destroy a few acres of wetlands, it has agreed to create 22 new acres of wetlands near the confluence of the Platte and the Missouri to mitigate the damage. Radek said the utility is willing to do whatever is reasonable and right to move the plant along. If M.U.D. could get its permits and permissions and begin construction next year, it could open the plant by 2007. Even so, the years in between may be inconvenient for many Omahans, particularly if there is drought. Waiting longer would be increasingly difficult and painful for water users. The lack of another water plant could mean mandatory conservation or perhaps even rationing or a slow-down in growth to the west. That wouldn't be good for Omaha. The next step is for the Army Corps to expedite the vital environmental report. Then, M.U.D. should move ahead as fast as it can. The longer the delay, the more problems will beset the water system. |
Summer water use in metro area Construction Progress Photos Water Plant Wellfield: |
