NEW WATER OPERATION BEGINS PUMPING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

McCLURE, Ill. -- Ron Medlin and Randy Colyer watched as hundreds of gallons of water gushed out of a fire hydrant on the grounds of the Shawnee Elementary School Center at McClure Wednesday.

"We're flushing out the water system," said Colyer, a Southern Illinois farmer who serves as a maintenance man for the McClure-East Cape Girardeau Water District. "We'll let the water run until it's perfectly clear."

Water filtering through the system Wednesday afternoon was from the new SouthWater Inc. water plant alongside the Olive Branch-Tamms Blacktop just south of Egyptian High School.

"We're excited about the happenings today," said Medlin, member service director for SouthWater, which was created by Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative at Dongola, Ill., to provide clean, safe drinking water to more than 1,600 families in Alexander, Pulaski and Union counties.

"This is just the start," said Medlin. "Today, we turned on the water to the McClure-East Cape Girardeau and Central Alexander County (Olive Branch area) Water District. Next on schedule is the Dongola Water District."

That could come as early as Aug. 1, said Medlin.

Also scheduled for the new water service over the next two to three months are water districts at Pulaski and Mounds.

SouthWater is planning a special dedication of the new system in September.

Several thousand gallons of water was flushed through the lines before the water started reaching the 100,000-gallon water tank at East Cape Girardeau.

This will cut down on some expenses for the McClure-East Cape District, said Colyer. "We can buy our water wholesale at a lower rate than pumping our own."

Progress on the SouthWater system has moved along well, said Medlin.

The idea for the regional water treatment center emerged Nov. 18, 1993, during a meeting of representatives from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Southern Five Regional Planning Commission, Farmers Home Administration, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, and Southern Illinois Electric Cooperative.

"We started work on the new water plant and facilities last year," he said. "We had hoped for an earlier 1998 start, but we're pleased that we're now pumping water."

When completed, the $20 million project will provide more than 750,000 gallons of water a day to more than 3,000 families.

This includes wholesale water to a half-dozen water districts -- Pulaski, Mill Creek, Mounds, Dongola, McClure-East Cape Girardeau and Central Alexander County districts and a number of retail customers.

"Right now we have about 50 miles of water pipes," said Medlin. "We'll eventually have about 100 to 150 miles of piping, and even then we'll continue to expand."

Another municipal water district -- Ullin -- will join the system in the near future.

Currently, the system includes a number of control facilities along the pipe route.

On hand for Wednesday's turn-on was Chuck Waggoner of Engineer Fluid Inc., which installed the control facilities. Also involved in the McClure-East Cape Girardeau operation was Bill Gurley, who turned the switch at the control panel northeast of McClure.

The average residential monthly fee charged by SouthWater will be $27, said Medlin. "Actually, it could range between $25 and $30," he said, based on consumption of between 4,500 and 5,000 gallons of water."