City Utilities
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Utilities Director: Joe Robison, 417-876-4821
The City of El Dorado Springs owns and operates an electric distribution system, a water distribution system and a wastewater treatment system. These utilities operate solely on user charges. In other words, all the costs to operate each system are paid by the user of the service. The utilities are not supported by property tax or sales tax dollars.
Water System
The City water supply comes from deep underground water bearing aquifers. The City operates and maintains 3 deep wells that reach approximately 1,000 feet deep. The pumps inside these wells supply the town with all its fresh water needs. The City has two – 250,000 gallon elevated water tanks. This combined 500,000 gallon storage capacity ensures the water distribution system has adequate pressure and flow (quantity) of water to meet the domestic, industrial and fire protection needs of the community.
The City distribution system consists of approximately 35 miles of water mains throughout the City. Fire hydrants are a part of this system and give you an idea where the mains lay. The water quality is monitored on a monthly basis as required by the Department of Natural Resources. Samples are collected from various locations and sent to an independent laboratory for analysis. Annually, the City publishes a drinking water Consumer Confidence report.
To view the latest report, click here.
El Dorado Springs is currently in the middle of a 5-year capital improvement plan. The plan calls for the replacement of approximately 50,000 lineal feet of water main. This program includes the replacement of numerous fire hydrants. These improvements will result in greatly increased flow rates. Many of the old ductile iron lines have become constricted from years of sediment build up on the inside of the pipes. An increased flow rate is extremely important for fire protection efforts. In fact, many of these improvements, made over the last 3 years, helped reduce the City fire insurance rating. The City rating effective March 1, 2009 improved from a class 7 to a class 4. This is a huge jump that could help reduce fire insurance rates for residential and commercial property.
Electric System
El Dorado Springs owns and operates the electrical distribution system. The system consists of 1.25 miles of high voltage (69kV) transmission power line, 2 electrical substations, approximately 36 miles of distribution lines and 3 – 1.85 megawatt emergency generators. The City purchases the electricity from the Missouri Pubic Entity Pool. This group purchases electricity for over 30 cities. It is then transported to the City over KAMO transmission lines to El Dorado Springs. The two substations then step the voltage down from 69,000 volts to the distribution voltage of 7,200 volts. The older substation has a 12-14 MVa transformer. The new substation has a 20-25 MVa transformer. The most recent peak load for the City was 12.5 MVa.
Having two transformers greatly reduces the likelihood that the City would be totally without power due to a substation failure. Dividing the load between the old transformer and the new one will also extend the service life of both of them.
Sewer Treatment System
The City of El Dorado Springs owns and operates a sewer treatment system. The system consists of a collection system of approximately 35 miles, a sewer treatment plant west of the City cemetery, seven lift stations and an irrigation field west of town on US Highway 54. The sewer plant itself was built in the 1950’s and has undergone four renovations. The most recent renovation was completed in 1993 when the irrigation system was added to land apply the treated effluent. Irrigating the effluent over land provides an additional treatment process as the water filters through the soil.
The Department of Natural Resources revised the City’s operating permit limits for Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and ammonia. The limits were all made more strict. The City was also told that the 90 acres used for irrigation was not enough. The City really needed an additional 200 acres. The technology of the fifty plus year old plant could not meet the new stricter limits. Also, there was not another 200 acres of land available to expand the irrigation system. The only option left was to build a new treatment plant with current biological treatment technologies.
The City completed construction of a new sewer treatment plant that will meet the needs of the community for the next 40-50 years. The treatment process will eliminate the land application process. Once the effluent is treated, it will be disinfected and discharged back into a tributary of Walnut Creek.
The new plant will actually produce effluent that exceeds the new treatment limits for BOD, TSS and ammonia levels. The City will also be working on eliminating groundwater and rainfall from entering the sewage collection system. When this water, that does not need treatment, gets into the system, it increases the flows at the treatment plant. This water must be treated along with the actual waste. The most common ways this water enters the system are through rain gutters, foundation drains, deteriorated private service lines, manholes and sewer mains.
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