There has been much talk about Adel’s water since the softeners were taken off line in early June. Speculation has been the growth has exceeded the ability to provide treated water to the community. That is not the case.
Water Capacity and Daily Use – Our water plant has the capacity to pump 850,00 gallons per day (gpd) to users. The water softeners on the other hand can only produce 600,000 gpd.
Average daily usage for all users throughout the year is between 400 and 450 gpd, about 50% of the pumping capacity and 67% – 75% of the softener capacity.
During times of higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal precipitation causes water demand to increase. Because the higher temps this summer coupled with the reduced rainfall created a “perfect storm” in terms of water demands.
Abnormally Dry Conditions – The following map from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources shows that Adel received between 25% and 50% of normal rainfall:
Here is a link to the Iowa DNR site listing all the Water Summary Updates (WSU)
http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environmental-Protection/Water-Quality/Water-Summary-Update
Abnormally Hot Conditions – And we all recall how our air conditioners were running constantly this summer. We didn’t experience many, if any, temps over 100 degrees, but they were constantly in the high 80’s to lower 90’s.
The following graph shows the that water demand exceeded the softening capacity during the summer months. You will also notice in September with lower temperatures and increased rainfall demand dropped to normal seasonal levels. This graph shows with the dotted line data points why the softeners could not be turned on until the week of October 8th:
State of Iowa Water Softening – As a point of reference regarding water softening, there are 1,079 water utilities like Adel in the state of Iowa. 133, or 12.3%, soften water for 1,2 million residents (38% ) of Iowa’s 3.13 million residents. This means that 1.9 million Iowans (62%) have never had softened water delivered to them by their utility.
Softened water is something Adel citizens expect and I will make sure the softeners will never be taken off line again due to demand.
Meeting Future Water and Water Softening Demands – The city is working on two ways to increase softening capacity – expanding the softeners using the current technology or implementing reverse osmosis to compliment the current softening capabilities. The city will look to use the most cost-effective method
In terms of the pumping capacity, to make sure we have enough water for our citizens, we are looking to partner with Xenia Water Utility as a resource for additional treated water when demand is high.
In the meantime, the Water Watch and Water Warning granted to the mayor by ordinance will be used to ensure we have plenty of treated, softened water for our citizens.
Planned Capital Improvements – Nearly three years ago the city began planning water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer utility improvements. One of the first projects will be activating two new wells next year. These wells will ensure the city has a reliable water source for many years to come.
The following list shows 15 planned projects totaling ~$38 million. These improvements will ensure the city has sufficient water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer capacity for years to come.
In summary, the City of Adel has been planning water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer project for nearly three years and plans to implement these capital projects over the next five to seven year period.