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Published September 04, 2008 08:46 pm - You can thank the wet remnants of Hurricane Gustav for putting 2008 on an even shorter path to being the wettest year for Joplin in more than 100 years. Gustav remnants move Joplin closer to dunking rain record By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com You can thank the wet remnants of Hurricane Gustav for putting 2008 on an even shorter path to being the wettest year for Joplin in more than 100 years. When Gustav arrived Tuesday afternoon, it brought with it 2.73 inches of rain, boosting the total rainfall count for Joplin so far this year to 51.72 inches. Normal year-to-date rainfall is 30.48 inches. Gene Hatch, a climatologist with the National Weather Service station in Springfield, said: “Normal rainfall for Joplin for the rest of the year is 16.18 inches. If that happens, 2008 will be the wettest year on record for Joplin.” The records go back to 1902. The year with the highest precipitation is 1985, with 65.25 inches. If the trend continues, 2008 could beat that record by more than 2 inches. “This part of the state has two wet seasons — the spring wet season and the fall wet season,” Hatch said. “We’re entering the second wet season from September through November. Let’s don’t forget that we have a couple more hurricanes out there, too.” The extraordinary amount of moisture has taken the pressure off municipal water suppliers, such as Missouri American Water Co. in Joplin. It also has replenished the shallow Springfield Plateau aquifer and the deep Ozark aquifer that exist underground. Peak water usage this summer in Joplin was down considerably when compared with that of previous years. Matt Barnhart, manager of Missouri American in Joplin, said the peak usage this summer was on July 25, when 18.68 million gallons of water were pumped from the Blendville Treatment Plant to the company’s 55,000 customers. The record peak was set on Aug. 2, 2006, when 21.69 million gallons were pulled from Shoal Creek and pumped from the company’s deep-aquifer wells. “We were nowhere near the record this year,” Barnhart said. “We would get up around 16, 17 or 18 million gallons a day, and then a rain would come along and knock it down a million. “It was a lot easier around here when it comes to pumpage. That was a good thing because it helped us focus on building the new plant expansion.” Missouri American is making $34 million in improvements to the plant, including a new 5-million-gallon treatment operation. The company gets most of its water from Shoal Creek. Water flow in the creek every day in August, Barnhart said, was more than double — sometimes triple — the normal levels. The company’s deep wells were pressed into service this summer. But Barnhart said: “We did not have to use them for peaking this year. We used them to keep them fresh and to make sure everything was working properly. 
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