More changes made to reservoir plan
Residents of Clarke County learned at a monthly reservoir commission meeting held July 9 that more changes are being made to the proposed 884-acre reservoir, which will set the date for construction back by four years and might change the size and location.
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is now looking at two alternatives to constructing a reservoir at the proposed site, said Marty Adkins, NRCS assistant state conservationist for water resources.
Alternatives
One alternative would move the location one mile west from 4B, the site that the commission is currently considering, to site 3.5. NRCS is also investigating the cost of running pipeline from Des Moines to Osceola in order to obtain more water.
NRCS will evaluate site 3.5 to see if it would be a viable source for the amount of water needed and report back to Clarke County Reservoir Commission (CCRC) by next month’s meeting.
If the site is acceptable, a second draft plan would be drawn up and the board would have another public hearing. Adkins did not know how long this process would take.
Adkins said right now NRCS is just considering the alternative site, and if it is determined “fatally flawed” the board could and should finish revisions for the draft plan and move on to the final status for site 4B.
The revisions include planning for a smaller lake.
At the last reservoir meeting, Adkins said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) was questioning how NRCS calculated the need for water. The two departments then determined they should base the calculations off of an average daily water demand of 3 million gallons per day instead of a peak daily demand of 4.1 million gallons per day.
“When sizing the proposed lake, [NRCS] used assumptions and procedures that were used for other southern Iowa lakes, like Three Mile,” said Adkins.”DNR said they think we should go by average daily demand instead of peak daily demand.”
Adkins said that now, NRCS expects to reduce the surface area of the reservoir by approximately 100 acres.
The alternatives and changes will push the planning process back, but Adkins didn’t know how long. After the evaluation of site 3.5 has been completed and pipelines considered, NRCS will present the findings to CCRC and recommend how the board should proceed.
“The ultimate decision is going to be made in this community, not by NRCS,” said Adkins. We help the community make this very difficult decision by looking at what is most feasible.”
Reactions
Harold Allen Jr.,a commission member representing Woodburn, said he views changing the site as a set back and a waste of money.
“We were originally looking at [the sites] 3 and 3.5 and [NRCS] told us it wouldn’t work according to the 10 State Standard,” said Allen at the meeting. “Now you’re telling us that we should go back to 3.5.”
Allen also questioned whether water from two sources or two treatment plants could be mixed. Allen said he had information that this couldn’t be done. Adkins said this would be looked into when determining if the pipeline is another alternative.
Darlene Handrock, landowner, voiced confusion and outrage about having to spend more time and money to consider the new plans and two alternatives.
“I don’t care where [the reservoir] is,” she said. “I am getting upset that we are wasting taxpayer money on this. I also don’t want Des Moines’ water. I don’t want to depend on them.”
Adkins agreed that the process is tedious, but required in order to complete the steps correctly.
“I had a colleague of mine who said that this process is meant to be slow and excruciating in order to make sure you go through the process correctly,” said Adkins. “You don’t want to do a sloppy job that could possibly affect someone’s life.”
Kathy Kelly, landowner in Clarke County, asked why West Lake couldn’t be dredged and improved so a smaller lake could be created in order to meet water demands.
Adkins said NRCS intends to use West Lake in addition to the proposed reservoir, but the storage capacity for West Lake can’t be increased by simply dredging the lake.
Although West Lake is licensed to yield more than a million gallons of water per day, Adkins said this amount could not be sustained over an extended period of time and NRCS is planning for a sustained yield during a drought situation.
Luck running out
Norm Lust, a commission member, said time might be running out for West Lake.
“We’ve had a lot of luck with [West Lake],” said Lust. “The DNR has it on the impaired water list. We’ve put a lot of pressure on that lake and we’re lucky, I mean lucky.”
According to IDNR’s website, “a waterbody is impaired when its water quality does not fully support that waterbody’s designated uses for human contact, aquatic life or drinking water.”
West Lake is listed in category five of the impaired list, the highest category, which means a water-quality improvement plan is needed.
In a press release, John Olsen, DNR environmental specialist said, “For the most part, when water is impaired, it tells us that we, as Iowans, need to act before those problems become severe.”