OTTAWA — Even with an expected increase in demand because of Proximity Park, the new industrial park being built by the city and county southeast of Ottawa, Ottawa should have enough water to meet the city’s needs for the near future. The city has sufficient water assurance rights in upstream Pomona and Melvern lakes and the city water plant is running at 40 percent of its designed maximum capacity, said assistant city utilities director David Buehler, who attended a special meeting dealing with the future of the Marais des Cygnes River ecosystem and area water supplies held Wednesday in Paola by the Kansas Water Office and the Marais des Cygnes River Advisory Committee. If future city commissions opt to expand the existing plant, the city’s water supply should be sufficient, he said. One concern is the amount of silt and soil flowing into the lakes fed by river. The state hopes to push action now to prevent the need to dredge later, such as is happening now at John Redmond Reservoir and Lake Perry. Ottawa officials are monitoring Melvern Lake and especially Pomona Lake. Because the land around Melvern Lake is mostly grass and pasture land with little soil runoff caused by agricultural and other activities, sedimentation isn’t much of an issue, he said. Areas around Pomona Lake are more heavily farmed and sedimentation has cut approximately 14 percent of the lake’s storage capacity, especially on western-most edges of the lake fed by Dragoon Creek. Most cities, water districts and individuals in eastern Kansas get their water from surface water such as lakes and streams rather than from underground water.
Friday, Dec. 8, 4 p.m.
