Better water on tap

A $17.5 million expansion to Cape Girardeau's water plant on Cape Rock Drive is six months behind schedule, but city officials say it should be done by this summer in plenty of time to meet increased warm-weather water demands.

An added bonus, they say, is that when the work is finished the city's 15,000 water subscribers should notice a difference. Not only will the expansion increase water capacity, but a water-softening process will be instituted, they said.

"People won't get so much calcium buildup in their showers, and hard water causes spots on dishes," said Kevin Priester, water system manager for Cape Girardeau. "They won't be seeing as much of that after the new system is up and running."

The primary purpose of the expansion is to increase the plant's capacity from 4.5 million gallons to 7.6 million gallons per day, Priester said. That should put a stop to conservation orders asking residents to use less water during hot weather.

Abundant supply

Typical usage in Cape Girardeau hovers around 5 million gallons a day at this time of year but jumps to 7 million gallons a day during the summer, Priester said. Over the past five years, the city has dipped into its water reserves on occasion, he said.

"This should allow us to have the ability to serve the public with abundant water supply and have ample reserves left in case of an emergency like a fire," Priester said.

Residents expressed more excitement over softer water than greater supplies.

"There is a lot of calcium in the water here," said Cape Girardeau resident Clara Boland, who moved here from West Virginia three years ago and noticed the difference immediately. "If you don't dry the dishes well they spot, and it leaves a lot of residue in our metal sink. It's a problem, so this sounds like it ought to help."

Lars Peterman agreed.

"I thought I was using too much soap," he said. "We have to wash them off after we wash them. It's good to hear that maybe we won't have to mess with that as much."

The city will use a process called lime softening that involves adding controlled amounts of slaked lime to incoming water. The hardness reacts to the lime to form a substance that is removed from the water stream through filtration and discarded. This process often reduces hardness to five grains per gallon or better.

Bond financing

The plant work is being paid for with a bond issue passed by voters in 1996. The bonds are being paid off with a quarter-cent sales-tax increase implemented in 1997.

The project originally was scheduled to be finished by the end of this month, but city manager Michael Miller said minor problems pushed the completion date back to July.

"It's not any one problem," Miller said. "There have been problems with machinery and other things out there. It's not anything that isn't expected from a large job."

The work is being done by Huffman Inc. of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Miller said if it turns out that the delay was caused by the contractor, he will look into seeking damages from the company.

"But as long as it's done by the next peak water period, it's not something that will cause us big problems," Miller said. "It's nothing we can't deal with."

Ten wells are being built at the water plant. The work also includes building two lime silos, adding 14 new filters, a new clarifier, a secondary sedentary settling unit, four high-service pumps and a new chemical feed building.

Using the well water should decrease the city's need to pull water directly from the Mississippi River.

"That's good because the river water's clarity is a problem," Priester said. "There's different organic matter in the water. We hope to use as little of the river water as possible."

Priester said, however, the plant is equipped to make the river water reach Environmental Protection Agency standards when needed.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137