The North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission has received the Missouri Rural Water Association Waterdrop Award for Excellence as 2019 Source Water Protection System of the Year.
The commission prepared a source water protection plan in anticipation of the construction of the East Locust Creek Reservoir, which would cover 2,338 acres and supply water to 10 counties.
A source water protection plan outlines the goals and measures to be taken to maintain and enhance clean water in a drinking water source. It is a required precursor to receiving a drinking water permit. The plan identified potential contaminants and sources of contamination as well as measures to be taken to mitigate or eliminate contamination. It also focused on mitigating or eliminating erosion to reduce sedimentation.
North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission Chairman Harve Rhodes calls it “a real honor to be recognized” for the source water protection plan. He says it is “absolutely critical” the East Locust Creek Reservoir be kept clean, and “that starts outside the lake itself in the watershed”.
The North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission directed Allstate Consultants Incorporated of Columbia, Lee’s Summit, and Marceline to perform the work on the source water protection plan. Allstate Biologist Greg Pitchford led the effort with support from the Commission General Manager Brad Scott. Selected residents from Sullivan County served as an advisory committee for the plan.
The East Locust Creek Reservoir is in the “final stretch” before construction, with permitting and final financing being addressed and negotiated. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is the East Locust Creek Reservoir’s federal sponsor.
