WATER TREATMENT PLANTS ENSURE SAFE CITY WATER

Drink up. Water is one commodity most of us take for granted ... unless there's a problem. Thanks to an efficient treatment operation and smooth transition to city ownership, quality water is the order of the day in Cape Girardeau.

A year ago voters approved the city's purchase of the water system from Union Electric. It was the only water system the power company had operated. Some concerns were raised at the time about the city's ability to oversee water treatment. Tom Taggert, Cape Girardeau's water system manager, and his crew have set aside any worries.

Quality water treatment is not an automatic process; care is required. And a larger city doesn't necessarily guarantee pure water. The woes of Milwaukee last week illustrate potential dangers. Test results revealed a portion of that city's water supply was contaminated by a parasite. One death and thousands of infections resulted. Milwaukee operated under a "boil water" order for several days.

Cape Girardeau's two water plants turn muddy, silty Mississippi River water and ground water packed with minerals into clean, clear drinking water. The challenge is not only to provide quality water, but plenty of it. The typical Cape Girardean uses about 166 gallons daily or about 60,000 a year. The city's total water system has a capacity flow of 7.5 million gallons per day, but the average daily flow measures only about 4.5 million gallons. The city also stores nearly 6 million gallons at any one time. It's important to keep extra water on hand for fire protection.

The water treatment must also operate in a climate of ever-increasing regulation. The Cape Girardeau plant currently monitors up to about 85 contaminants, but that will likely increase to more than 200 later this year under direction of the Safe Drinking Act.

The main water plant on Cape Rock operates with a single operator and two maintenance men. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Although built in 1931, the main plant remains very functional, meeting our city's water needs without fuss or fanfare. Most of us have enough daily challenges at work and home. It's nice to know when we turn on the tap, we can drink clean, clear city water without worry.