April 25, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins Water Treatment Plant – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Rawlins Public Works Director says he is confident about the city’s water future.
The city continues to suffer from water shortages caused by aging pipes and low aquafers. More summer water restrictions are likely, despite a snowier than average winter. Public Works Director Cody Dill said the city has a plan to increase its water supply, but only time will tell if it will be effective.
According to Dill, restarting the spring pumps isn’t a difficult or time-consuming process. He said it’s a matter of turning some valves and flushing the system of accumulated sediment.
The pre-treatment plant is a different matter. Last summer’s water failures highlighted the need for other solutions. To supplement the springs, the abandoned 23-year-old pre-treatment plant will be brought back online. The abandoned plant will remove debris and other contaminants from the North Platte River and send pre-treated water to the treatment plant to be further refined, augmenting the city’s supply of water.
A broken valve has stalled the pre-treatment plan’s reopening. Dill said he’s spoken to the company that manufactures the valve. The public works director said he’s confident the work will be fast-tracked.
The pre-treatment plant was built in the year 2000. Dill said trouble in finding the proper chemical mixture put a halt to the operations before the plant was ever truly functional. He said testing was done for a few weeks when construction was completed, but the building has sat idle ever since. The public works director said he thinks they have the chemicals figured out. He added that no other towns in Wyoming have attempted this type of two-stage treatment process before.
Dill said once the pre-treatment plant is restored, it will become a permanent part of the Rawlins water supply system. He said keeping the plant operational year-long is crucial as the city works to repair the rest of its water infrastructure.
The city’s water problem is not a new issue. Rawlins has had trouble providing enough water for citizens almost from its inception. Studies done in the early 1960’s by Pipeline Superintendent, Ben Davis, showed the aquifers that provide the city with water had dropped substantially since the first wells were installed in 1891. According to a report provided by Davis, “After a few more dry years there will be no flowing wells in the Rawlins basin.”
In 1917, the city government saw the need for an increased water supply. Engineers were hired to find an alternative to the wells within the city limits. City engineer James Wisda strongly supported tapping into the Sage Creek springs, south of town. Wisda promoted the idea, to such an extent, that he became known as Sage Creek Jimmy.
Wisda’s advice was taken in 1922, after plans to reroute or dam part of the North Platte River were abandoned. By May of 1924, the city had built more than 32-miles of wood stave pipe from the Sage Creek aquifer into town. Ultimately, the failure of the aged-and-unreplaced wooden pipes contributed to last summer’s massive water system breakdown.
Despite positive test results, the springs never met the city’s needs. To maintain projected growth until the year 2080, a constant flow of 5 cubic feet of water per second is needed. The Sage Creek springs only produce an average of 2 cubic feet—less than half of what Rawlins needs.
Even in the 1960’s, engineers saw that years of drought would leave the aquifers unable to keep up with future demand. Citizens now are experiencing this phenomenon first-hand.
Dill said he is hopeful the addition of the pre-treatment plant will allow the city to be less restrictive about water usage this year. None the less, the public works director said it will be early summer before he knows how effective the system will be.
Dill said he wants to reassure residents that the city is doing everything it can to increase the supply of water. He said the repairs made since last summer and the addition of the pre-treatment plant gives him hope that water restrictions may be a thing of the past.
The public works director said he sees a future where the city has an abundance of water, although Dill said that dream was years down the road.
According to former Pipeline Superintendent Davis, the city’s water problems are not new. Sources close to the administration are hopeful that last summer’s catastrophe has opened the city’s eyes to the decades of neglect – and lack of leadership – that allowed such a disastrous event to occur over many years of neglect.
A major retooling of how Rawlins deals with its water infrastructure is needed to ensure another breakdown doesn’t happen and the city can continue to grow long into the future.
