Going soft on water

In the next few days, the city will begin the process of making Cape Girardeau's water softer, meaning residents may notice fewer spots on their dinner glasses and prolonged life of their water heaters.

Construction workers are putting the finishing touches on a $17.5-million expansion of Cape Girardeau's water treatment plant on Cape Rock Drive.

The work also will allow the city to hold and filter more water and not have to ask residents to conserve during the hot summer months.

Designers and manufacturers should give their final approval of the plant in the next few days. But Kevin Priester, water system manager for Cape Girardeau, said residents may not notice a difference right away.

The process is not as simple as pushing a button, especially since the city will begin drawing its water from 10 wells on the banks of the Mississippi River instead of directly from the river itself. Plus, renovation must be done on part of the old filtration structures to make them compatible with the new system.

"There will be a mixture of softened and unsoftened water for a while," said Priester. The difference won't be as noticeable to water users now as it will be when all work is complete, he said.

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.

Full steam ahead

Priester said the system will be running full steam ahead in the fall. In the meantime, water department employees will be operating two systems at once.

Though it may mean more work in the short term, Priester said employees welcome it. The new design of the facility will make their jobs easier and more comfortable. The chemicals are stored and monitored in a separate building, which makes for less crowding and safer conditions.

Meanwhile, Cape Girardeau residents seem to be looking forward to softer water.

"We've had a water softner before, but the house we're in now does not have one," Margaret Yates said. "Anything is better than this very hard water we have now. With softened water, you'll notice your hair feels softer and your dishes seem cleaner."

Robert Blasiney, owner of many rental properties, said he has about 90 water heaters to maintain.

"If we get an extra year's life out of each element, it will make a lot of difference," he said.

Chuck Heady, the president of the Missouri Water Quality Association, is the manager at Schaefer Water Center in Cape Girardeau. He said he has been in contact with officials at the water plant.

He said that even though the water quality will be improved, "soft water means zero hardness. What they're going to do is soften the water from what it has been in the past to another level. I don't know any city anywhere that has soft water."

That will mean restaurants like the Outback will continue to hire water-softening services so they can serve glasses and silverware with the least amount of water spots.

"It's a constant struggle," said Andy Hancock, a managing partner at Outback.

Abundant supply

Though residents may notice a difference in the quality of the city's water, the most important intent of the expansion was to address quantity issues.

The expansion will increase the plant's capacity from 4.5 million gallons to 7.6 million gallons per day, Priester said. During the summer months, it is common for the city to use 7 million gallons per day. Over the past five years, the city has dipped into its water reserves on occasion, Priester said.

Prior to the expansion, the city could only hold 400,000 gallons in reserve. A new storage tank was built that will hold 1.75 million gallons.

Having that much in reserve would help in emergencies like a fire. But the growth in the treatment plant could have an economic impact as well.

Industries looking to make an investment want to see if the community has the capacity available for future growth, said Mitch Robinson, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Area Industrial Recruitment Association.

"We've had some projects where general utility capacity has been very important," he said.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127