LPRW adjusts for rising demand

Rural water company pursues best strategies to provide ‘reliable, high quality, affordable water in an environmentally responsible manner’

There was a time not many years ago when Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water (LPRW) allowed its customers to use as much water as they wanted. Increasing demand for water, however, made that an unsustainable way to operate, according to Jason Overby, LPRW general manager.

From the year 2000 until now, water demand in LPRW’s service area (see accompanying map) has increased from about 1.1 billion gallons a year to 1.6 billion gallons a year. Overby said much of the increased demand is the result of a growing number of feedlots in the region that require large quantities of water.

In response to rising demand, LPRW has imposed moratoriums in parts of its service area at different times, changed its fee structure and added new water sources.

This map shows Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water’s (LPRW) four service areas. LPRW currently has a moratorium on new nonresidential water hookups and expansions in its Burr service area.

 

The moratorium

LPRW currently has a moratorium on new non-residential customers in its Burr service area in the northern part of its services area. Overby said LPRW imposed the moratorium in June 2016 because it was nearing the permitted amount of water (550 million gallons a year) it can remove from the Burr water source and it needs to increase its water transmission capability in the area.

The water provider amended the moratorium in November to prohibit any capacity expansion by existing users in the Burr service area without approval of LPRW’s board of directors.

Overby said LPRW is pursuing two projects that would allow it to lift that moratorium. The first project is connecting to the city of Dawson’s water supply. He said that connection would provide a short-term solution and allow LPRW to lift the moratorium in 2018.

“They have some excess water in their community and they’re willing to sell it to us,” Overby said. “We’re in the initial stages of a project to get a pipeline connected between our largest main up there and the city.”

As a long-term solution, LPRW is exploring other water sources in the Dawson area.

“If a water source pans out, then we’d be looking at developing a well field similar to the ones we have in Pipestone and Lincoln counties,” Overby said.

He said adding a water source from the Dawson area would also address the transmission limitations in the area.

This chart shows the amount of water Lincoln Pipestone Rural Water’s (LPRW) customers use and the amount of water LPRW can provide. The rural water provider’s system-wide capacity exceeds its total use, but some areas are in need of added water sources to meet demand and address water treatment needs.

Lewis and Clark water

Overby said LPRW also anticipates receiving water from the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System (LCRWS) by March or April of 2018 that will allow it to address wastewater discharge problems at its Holland well fields.

LPRW uses a reverse osmosis system to remove nitrates from the water from some of its wells near Holland and discharges the wastewater into the Pipestone Creek. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) found in 2009 that the wastewater contained salt levels that posed a threat to fish and has given LPRW time to find a viable option to address the issue.

Overby said connecting to Lewis and Clark will allow LPRW to shut down up to four of its eight wells near Holland that have high nitrate levels and require treatment.

 

The future of LPRW

System-wide LPRW has the capacity to provide far more water than is currently needed.

It’s permitted to take 2.033 billion gallons of water a year out of its water sources and it purchases another .495 billion gallons, enabling it to provide 2.528 billion gallons a year. Customer use in 2016 totaled 1.64 billion gallons of water.

The issue is making sure that all areas of LPRW’s service area have the capacity and transmission capability to provide water where it’s demanded, fulfilling its mission of “enhancing the quality of life for the people in southwest Minnesota by acquiring and providing reliable, high quality, affordable water in an environmentally responsible manner.”

“As the demand dictates, our prerogative is to pursue good quality water for residents and businesses of this region,” Overby said. “As Lincoln Pipestone grows, it is constantly searching out ways to improve new avenues for water sources, and new relationships with neighboring districts and cities to make sure that everybody has good quality water.”