New site to be investigated for reservoir

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Three sites are now being considered for the Clarke County Reservoir. They include site 3.5, 4B and 5. Site 5's centerline of the dam lies in between 4B and 3.5. (Map courtesy of NRCS)

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A third site is now being investigated for a proposed reservoir in Clarke County.

Site 5's centerline of the dam lies in between 4B and 3.5, two sites that were already being considered.

The newest site has some advantages and disadvantages, said Marty Adkins NRCS assistant state conservationist for water resources.

"We thought we needed to do this study in the interest of being thorough," Adkins said at the reservoir meeting Jan. 14.

Road relocation and modification costs with Site 5 might be less than with the other sites.

According to Adkins, planning designs for all three sites have been completed and dam construction costs are still being developed.

NRCS National Water Management Center will review the draft plan in February. The public will then have 30 days to review the plan and comment. A public hearing is planned for the end of March. 

"That's not the end of the process," said Adkins. "As we learned from last year, things come up in the process that we have to account for. There are two possible outcomes based on the interagency review and public comments. Either we're ready to go to a final plan or we will have to take a step back."

In July, plans for the reservoir had to take a step back when NRCS representatives learned the size of the reservoir might decrease and amount of mitigation they would need to do increased.

OTHER ISSUES

Reservoir commission member Norm Lust said the land committee has come to an "important crossroad."

The team will start gathering crucial facts and figures for parcels that are common in all three sites, he said.

"We'll order appraisals for certain individuals who volunteer to give us those facts and figures," Lust said. "This is important because we really need that information right now. Right now, we're just guessing. To do the best job that we can, we need to have some of that information."

Pipeline costs were also discussed at the meeting, an option that is "no longer on the table," according to Reservoir Commission member and Osceola Mayor Fred Diehl.

"It appears the cost is enough higher than the reservoir that we won't even consider it now," he said. "We had to do it to make sure we were doing the rght thing and make sure that the reservoir was the right direction to take."

The construction of this alternative to the reservoir would mean pumping water from McMullen Water Treatment Plant in southwest Des Moines to Osceola.

The pipeline would be constructed along country roads for the majority of the route. The 38 miles of pipeline is estimated to cost $32 million.

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