AVOCA, Iowa (KMTV) — A water crisis for rural water customers in parts of Southwest Iowa is ongoing, but progress was evident on Thursday. KMTV was at the site of a future pump station as a temporary pump arrived on a trailer.
WATCH KATRINA'S FIRST STORY HERE
- Pipeline has already been laid between the Regional Water system, headquartered in rural Pottawattamie County, and the Council Bluffs water plants.
- A temporary pump will be connected in the next few days until a permanent pump can be installed in the fall.
- Regional Water is currently testing it's water for bacteria, but a boil order remains in place for the time being.
WATCH KATRINA'S SECOND STORY HERE
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT FIRST STORY:
Relief is on the way for regional water customers currently experiencing a water shortage and a boil order. I’m Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel in rural Pottawattamie County, and at this site, crews have been busy readying for a water pump that just arrived.
I was there as the trailer carrying a temporary water pump pulled up. It’s an important step, bringing water from Council Bluffs, which has ample supply from the river.
Regional water supplies rural customers across a five-county area. During my ongoing coverage, neighbors have raised a lot of questions about the shortage.
“What we want to do is not cut corners.”
That’s Regional Water General Manager Tom Kallman. I asked him if the company took on too many customers. He told me the last time the company added communities was almost 20 years ago.
“Seventeen years ago, the information that we had did not indicate this significant drop in the capacity of our well field to produce water.”
Much of Southwest Iowa is in a moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and Regional Water hasn’t been able to drill into a deep aquifer as of yet. So, the solution is to pipe water from Council Bluffs, plans that were underway before the recent crisis.
For now, neighbors will remain on a boil order until testing indicates it’s not needed.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT SECOND STORY:
Relief is on the way for regional water customers currently experiencing a water shortage and a boil order. I’m Southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter Katrina Markel in rural Pottawattamie County, and at this site, crews have been busy readying for a water pump that just arrived.
I was there as the trailer carrying a temporary water pump pulled up. Regional Water’s wells have been low, forcing a boil order and water restrictions for rural and small-town neighbors in a five-county area.
The pump will get water moving through a pipeline already connected to Council Bluffs water.
Neighbors told me they worry Regional Water took on too many customers. I took that question to Regional Water General Manager Tom Kallman.
Katrina Markel: “And I wonder if that’s something that you’ve discussed as a company?”
Kallman: “Many times. We have discussed that many times ... The challenge is that the demand has gone up over those years, and when you don’t allow the watershed to rest, it can’t refill and recharge.”
And what about the livestock on their system?
“In almost every case, these ag companies have some sort of well water that they are using as well,” Kallman said.
Regional Water has shallow wells and has had no luck tapping into the nearby Dakota Aquifer.
There’s still more to do before the temporary pump can be connected. The installation of a permanent pump is planned for October. For now, neighbors will remain on a boil order.
