SIRWA to back up Osceola

OSCEOLA — In the Osceola Water Board of Trustees April meeting, a three-stage plan to address water needs was approved, which included short, intermediate and long-term plans. In July, work on the intermediate plan began by Osceola Water Works and Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) working together to complete an infrastructure update and interconnection at the SIRWA water tower east of Osceola on U.S. Highway 34.

The update included SIRWA installing 2,850 feet of 8 inch watermain and necessary fittings to the front side of the SIRWA water tower east of Osceola. This interconnection assures that, during a period of drought when Osceola’s West Lake does not have adequate supply, the eastern part of Clarke County can continue being served by the SIRWA Three Mile Lake source. This system update will also allow SIRWA to supplement Osceola’s eastern distribution system during times of emergency or fire suppression.

“This is just the start of a cooperative effort being taken between Osceola Water Works and SIRWA. SIRWA can now serve the eastern part of Clarke County from their Three Mile source during the summer months while keeping the east tower in service,” said Brandon Patterson, Osceola Water Works Superintendent.

With the success of this addition, and as part of the intermediate-term water plan, the Osceola Water Board and engineers from V&K have begun researching other opportunities where systems can be augmented to support users beyond the limits of West Lake’s 800,000 to 900,000 gallons per day availability and provide better flexibility in emergency situations.

At the most recent water board meeting, it was estimated the daily average draw from West Lake is between 1.2 and 1.4 million gallons per day.

“Even with the recent rainfall we are still seeing a decline in water levels at West Lake. Bottom line is we are using more water than West Lake can safely supply”, said Patterson. “Tying regional water services together to support one another is a huge part of the first phase of our intermediate plan.”

The cost of making the most recent updates to the east tower infrastructure was $109,149. Osceola Water Works was able to work with a $50,000 matching grant from the Clarke County Development Corporation (CCDC) with SIRWA funding the remainder of the project.

“Water is an important element in the health, welfare, and future of our entire community,” said Bill Trickey, CCDC Executive Director. “Whether the funds go to local water transport or much-needed regional infrastructure, the impact of these collaborations will be felt by everyone.”

The transport Trickey referred to is from the CCDC’s original grant to the city of Osceola and Osceola Water Works to help support the potential need to transport water to West Lake from other sources throughout the community.

“We’re going to keep working through every possible option to assure access to safe quality water for our customers,” said Patterson.