Reliable Water in an Unreliable World – that was the theme of a conference held at the Darr Agricultural center in Springfield Tuesday. Expert presenters spoke to the assembled crowd of public leaders, water professionals, engineers and researchers on broad topics such as federal funding, and specifically, on the future water needs of Southwest Missouri.
Earlier this year, the Army Corps of Engineers reallocated water at Stockton Lake to be made available as drinking water for our region. That reallocation will provide an additional 38 million gallons of water a day. Now communities in the region must work together to get that water where it needs to go.
Chad Johnson, engineer with CDM Smith, spoke during the conference, and shared parts of a planning study his company has done. Johnson said the project could require 175 miles of water pipelines. He didn't present any timeline for any further design work to begin. Johnson spoke about the nitty gritty of getting the rest of the work done when the time comes.
“Often in a project like this. It’s a function of funding available and then when is the water needed?”
The plan presented by Johnson would have construction in seven phases over 20 years, progressing from the site at Stockton, south and southwest. He said a condensed plan could see the work done in 10 years.
He discussed engineering challenges from the hills and valleys, and other infrastructure, the water infrastructure will crisscross and the logistical challenges of funding, permitting and securing rights from landowners.
The annual water conference is organized by Southwest Missouri Water. The organization was also behind the water reallocation at Stockton. We spoke with SWMO Water Executive Director Roddy Rogers earlier this year for our Sense of Community series.
Rogers described Southwest Missouri Water as “a coalition of utilities and water providers.” The group has been around since 2003, established with a mission to secure our region’s future water source, with an outlook towards 2060.
The Southwest Missouri Water coalition includes 16 counties and municipalities, including Springfield, Carthage, Joplin, Monett, Mount Vernon, Nixa, Willard, Ozark and Republic. When we spoke with Rogers, he said he believed the infrastructure needed to connect all of the communities in his coalition with the source at Stockton could be $1 billion or more.