Field Office Compliance - Assistance

Assistance ID - 130200
Osceola Water Works - 310338248
2320 WEST CLAY STREET Osceola, IA 50213
Clarke County

FO 5

Report
File Name File Type File Date Note
Comments
1/5/2024 On Fri, Jan 5, 2024 at 11:18?AM Gastineau, Janet <janet.gastineau@dnr.iowa.gov> wrote: I watched most of the Osceola Water Works Board meeting live last night. Below, in no particular order, are some highlights that might interest you: It will take 12" of rain to bring West Lake to normal pool. As of 12/29/23, without rain and at current daily use (1.1 MGD), there are 319 days of source water. Lake level will be measured again today and every Friday. As of mid-week Creston Water Works is providing additional water to SIRWA which should remove approximately 0.300 MGD demand from Osceola. The "water train" alternative, which would have cost >$38 million for six months, has been taken off the table by BNSFRR. The quarry owners have given permission to the water works to be on site to gather data. How to proceed with this will depend on the upcoming consulting engineer meeting. Arbor Valley Lake HOA gave green light for access, but no water samples were taken and if other measurements were taken, Brandon Patterson has not seen the data yet. Brandon is meeting with their engineer 1/9/24 to discuss plant upgrades (which have been planned despite drought) and alternatives which should then lead to the engineer developing costs for options (well water, private sources, pipelines, rural water, etc.). After speaking with Ty Wheeler, Brandon paraphrased Ted's discussion with Ty Wheeler, but the one message that still isn't quite sinking in is the legal analysis necessary for the effluent reuse project. Board members wondered why the Iowa DNR can't just call up other states and find out how they make it work and then make it work. Based on their discussion I believe they just don't grasp the concept that the Iowa DNR has limited regulations through which we have authority and our legal unit needs to determine if the wastewater reuse fits current regulations. Furthermore, if "not the DNR" then who does have the authority? EPA was brought up, but based on the desire to "stay in their lane," they don't intend to reach out to them at this time. On the bright side, they did have a grasp of our approach for one group to deal with the wastewater project and the other for short-term solutions and the respective point of contacts (although they think Ted is the supervisor of the water supply section). Generally speaking they think they're moving forward but then "the state" sets them back. There was also some discussion about whether some kind of DM Register article was necessary to get the public asking "why haven't these projects moved faster?" The boards' thought being it wouldn't take long for legislators to figure out whose fault it is. I attached a few newspaper articles from the local paper from 2000. It's interesting that they came pretty close to adding a Jordan well back then. Water Board President is meeting bi-weekly with legislators Fry and Sinclair. They are asking her to present barriers to moving forward and then they will work to remove barriers. Monthly meeting with Osceola Foods. Water Board President also met with Chariton but there was no discussion about what that meeting produced. Current water use mirrors last year at this time, although there has been some evidence of residential conservation. Water rates and budget will be presented at the February board meeting, which will be held at the high school auditorium (holds 600) in anticipation of a crowd. Water revenue is down because they are not selling as much to SIRWA (currently $286K short), but feel like with the months left and some expenses being less than projected (chemicals and salaries), that they'll be OK for the current financial year. JANET GASTINEAU
State of Iowa DNR Home Site Policy
Leading Iowans in caring for our natural resources
Version: 2.3.1.23706
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