The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

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October 21, 2009

Possible reservoirs reviewed for Barton County, Pittsburg

By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

At the request of city leaders in Lamar and Pittsburg, Kan., the Tri-State Water Resource Coalition has agreed to take a closer look at the need for water in those areas.

The coalition, which met Wednesday at Joplin City Hall, authorized a $15,600 contract with the consulting firm of Freese and Nichols, of Fort Worth, Texas, to look for ways to provide a firm yield of 8 million gallons of water per day.

That volume is based on projected demands of 5 million gallons a day by the city of Pittsburg, 1 million gallons a day by the city of Lamar and 2 million gallons a day by Empire District Electric Co., which operates a coal-fired generating plant near Asbury.

The city of Pittsburg, which applied to the state of Kansas for a permit to withdraw water from the Spring River in Kansas, has since withdrawn that application.

Under a previous contract to identify water resources for the region, Freese and Nichols noted two reservoir sites that could serve the Pittsburg-Lamar area. But those sites initially were discounted as not being cost effective when compared with nine other sites proposed for meeting the water needs of the larger area.

The preferred sites for meeting the region’s water needs were on Shoal Creek between Neosho and Monett, and on a tributary to the James River near Springfield.

The supplemental contract approved by the coalition will take a closer look at sites that straddle the Barton-Jasper county line south of U.S. Highway 160 and west of U.S. Highway 71.

The contract also will look at other alternatives, including a treated water supply from the Joplin area, water reuse, a new water source from the North Fork of the Spring River, and a diversion from the hydropower releases of the Stockton Lake dam.

The contract also calls for cost estimates for transmitting and treating the water.

The coalition, however, also has taken the position that obtaining water from existing impoundments, such as Grand Lake, Stockton Lake or Table Rock Lake, could be more cost effective and doable compared with construction of a new reservoir.

Coalition members learned Wednesday that a meeting will be held today with a staff attorney from the Grand River Dam Authority to talk about the possibility of acquiring water from Grand Lake in Oklahoma.

The coalition on Wednesday also viewed a presentation by Roddy Rogers, with City Utilities of Springfield, that showed how City Utilities tapped water from Stockton Lake. The effort began in 1988 and was completed in 1995.

Rogers said the $40 million project involved construction of a 30-mile pipeline and related structures from Stockton Lake to Fellows Lake north of Springfield. He said the effort’s success could be attributed in large measure to public involvement at every step of the procedure. He also said the company made certain that state and federal regulators were involved in the design work, which involved 80 permits.

Construction of the pipeline required the granting of rights of way by 113 property owners. Of that number, 109 participated without condemnation.

In other business, the coalition learned that meetings have been held with attorneys to draft state legislation that would create a new entity to carry out the objectives of the coalition, which is now organized as a nonprofit group. The group could meet in early November to determine whether it is feasible to produce the proposed legislation for pre-filing before the upcoming legislative session. If that cannot be done, the filing of the legislation would be put off until next year.



Director wanted

The Tri-State Water Resource Coalition discussed hiring a part- or full-time director to take over the responsibilities of Robert Nichols, of Webb City, who has headed the coalition without pay since its inception. The director’s job would pay $40,000 to $70,000 a year, and would include benefits. The position is being advertised locally and nationally.

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