The Journal-World this weekend runs a series of stories about the water at Clinton Lake, and what it means for Lawrence’s growth. Chris Stewart takes reader questions Tuesday afternoon.

RJBurkhart3

Clearinghouse – for low-cost household water treatment …The Safe Water System (SWS) is a water quality intervention that employs simple, … pump for a couple of minutes and out of the tap will come clean, …
www.jalmandir.com/clearinghouse/english.html

What other filtiering options should I consider as a COL consumer of water out of the tap?

Moderator

Good afternoon everyone. It’s Dennis Anderson, managing editor of the Lawrence Journal-World. Today’s online chat guest is Chris Stewart, interim director of utilities for the city of Lawrence. Chris’ expertise is in water, the subject of a two-day report in the Journal-World, 6News and World Online on Sunday and Monday. The stories were written and produced by a Kansas University journalism class led by Professor Rick Musser.

Welcome Chris.

Chris Stewart

Thanks for the invitation and hope that my typing skills are not to slow for everyone.

gontek

Chris,
What conservation measures does the city have in place for hot summers, and what was this summers max for a daily demand in MGD?
Kyle

Chris Stewart

The maximum day demand was approximatley 24 mgd. The record one-day demand was about 25. 5 mgd (finished water pumped to the customers) . Conservation efforts at this time are very closely related to education. Over the past year we have implemented a program with the Lawrence School District: Water Wise. This program provides hands-on experience with the fourth graders to measure water use in the home and use water efficient devices to reduce your water demand. We will contine with this program in the future. We are tracking the potential savings and a report has been presented to the City Commission with the information.

Another item that we have been involved with is a Demonstration garden with Parks and Recreation. This garden will be dedicated later this month and is to be used to provide a ” how to ” guide on plantings that do not require as much water. In additon, we are sponsoring classes with P&R dealing with conservation topics.

gontek

Hi Chris,
How much water does this distribution system hold? How many miles of pipe are there, and how do you keep track of it all?
Thanks,
Kyle

Chris Stewart

The distribution system has approximately 400 miles of pipeline, with 6 storage tanks that hold 5.5 million gallons. Historical tracking was done with a paper copies of the system since the beginning. Over the last 15 years, we have been utilizing a computerized mapping system – Geographic Information System ( GIS) of the entire system.

gontek

Hi Chris,
Are there any planned improvements in the filtration process in the forseeable future such as UV disinfection treatment?
You and your staff keep up the great work.

Chris Stewart

Thanks for all the good questions. It appears by your questions that you do have knowledge about the water industry. The CIty has a planned expansion of the Clinton water treatment plant that will improve the capacity from 15 mgd to 20 mgd. Many Utilites are starting the next stage of testing for the current regulations. The testing that is being done will help to determine if the filtration process will require the use of UV ( UltraViolet) disinfection process. The current process meets all regulations at this time.

RJBurkhart3

What are your top 3-5 (underlying) planning assumptions about delivered cost of reliable City of Lawrence water supplies having sustainable quality?

Chris Stewart

One item comes to mind as it relates to water quality and cost:

The current water quality from the Clinton Lake and the Kansas river are good. Degradation of these water supplies are always a concern because it may cost more to treat the water or it may require changes in the treatment process. The CIty Utility staff has been involved in the recent years with the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy that is intended to look at the future and assist in developing best management practices to ensure water quality is sustainable.

I hope this answers your question.

RJBurkhart3

An editorial in the New York Times mentioned a recent report from Britain’s Environment Agency that it had found traces of the antidepressant drug Prozac in rivers and groundwater. What steps are we taking to help avoid impacts of this alternative future?

Chris Stewart

That is an excellent question and one that does not have a complete answer at this time. The Environmental Protection Agency , as well as other water industry organizations have recognized this as an issue that needs much more research and development. There has been studies on this particular issue in the recent past . To my knowledge there has been nothing conclusive at this time. Anticipate the EPA to continue to develop research on this matter.

Joel

Chris: How does the drought affect our water supply — amount, quality, etc. — and at what point do we have to start thinking about conservation measures?

Chris Stewart

The current declared drought has not impacted the water supplies at this time. This is due to the rain that we have been receiving over the last month that has really improved the situation. If a severe drought ( impacting the quantity) does occur then we would go through a planned progression: First phase is an education to the public. Second phase would require voluntary water curtailment and the final stage is mandatory water curtailment.

We are also a member of the Kansas Assurance District that provides for water storage in the upstream reservoirs. This storage is to provide for an extended drought period similar to the 1950’s drought of record.

hurlehey_boy

Is the quality of water in E. Lawrence EVER going to get better? Currently the water flowing from my tap smells like a litterbox.

Chris Stewart

I appreciate your concern and please give me your address. I would like to get some samples and help to determine the cause.

gontek

Hi Chris,
What can you say about the relatively new engineering staff in Utilities? What kind of difference have they been making in the last year or so?
Kyle

Chris Stewart

The future is very bright. We do have a very capable staff and the addition will help us to accomplish more in the future ( master plan projects, infrastructure maintenance) . I am looking forward to the special projects that will be done to help the Lawrence Utility Department to continue to be one of the best in the State of Kansas. Thanks for asking.

gontek

Hi Chris,
Do you think Clinton is silting in faster than expexted, or do you know of any USACE comments on this matter?
Thanks.

Chris Stewart

From what I have seen, Clinton is silting in at a rate that is slightly more than anticipated when it was designed. The big concern is that the siltation is not spreading over the lake and is being deposited in the conservation pool.

Moderator

Chris has already stayed beyond his agreed upon time for the chat. I’d like to thank the readers for their questions, and Chris for his time and answers.
Thanks, Chris.

Chris Stewart

Thank you for the invitation and questions were very good. Thanks to all. I would like to extend an invitation for anyone to call for any questions or service issues. If there is a concern then we want to be the first to help in finding an answer. The general number is 832 7800. I can be reached at 832 7814. thanks again.