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National Rural Water Association Major Drought is Hidden Blessing to the Big Sioux Protecting source water comes in many forms even if it is from an otherwise bad situation. That is what the staff of Minnehaha Community Water Corporation found as the level of the Big Sioux River fell steadily throughout the spring and summer of 2003.
The Minnehaha Community Water treatment plant is located
between Baltic and Dell Rapids along the Big Sioux River. Although MCWC
does not draw directly from the river, the amount of water flowing
in the
river is hydraulically linked to the level of water in the
Big Sioux Aquifer, which serves as our source. We
South of Dell Rapids the river splits and then reconnects two miles later. As we monitored the water levels, we noticed that a 3,000-foot stretch of river had gone completely dry. This was the first time since 1976 that a section of the Big Sioux had stopped flowing. Upon closer investigation, we were shocked to see the amount of trash that had accumulated in such a short distance. We knew that we had to act to protect our source water when we saw a row of old car batteries lined up along the bank. We also recognized that our clean up efforts would present a unique opportunity to raise community awareness on both water conservation and source water protection. Local television stations and newspapers covered the event. Each television station ran the story in their evening and nightly broadcasts showing our efforts and how the cleanup affected water quality. The regional newspaper printed a front-page picture and gave significant space to the story in the local section. In total, we removed a dump truck full of trash from the short section of the Big Sioux River. Our most disturbing finds included six car batteries and several old barrels. Other garbage included car parts, furniture, appliances, bottles, cans, and over two dozen old tires. While we hate to see the levels in the Big Sioux River drop to a 25-year low, we were glad to have an opportunity to protect our source water and raise public awareness. For more information and assistance with source water protection, contact your state rural water association. A quick state reference listing may be found on the NRWA website: www.nrwa.org and resource information is available at www.sourcewater.net National Rural Water Association and its 48 state associations provide service and support to over 23,501 water and wastewater utilities throughout the United States. Article based on “Cleaning of the Big Sioux” by Scott Buss, Minnehaha Community Water Corp., Dell Rapids, SD. Pictures are by Randy Hascall., NRWA Rural Water Magazine, Third Quarter 2004. ESI is published by the National Rural Water Association, 2915 S. 13th Street, Duncan, OK 73533. Copyright 2004, Volume I, Issue 3 - August, 2004 |
