| WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE? - A Source of Supply Update
(Excerpt from KKW's Winter 2005 Newsletter)
Norm Labbe, Superintendent
As reported in our last couple of issues of WHAT'S ON TAP, addressing our long-term source of water supply is one of our top strategic initiatives. After all, how effective can a water utility be without water?
The short-term perspective is easy. We had a cool, wet summer and the drought is over. We didn't have to purchase water from our neighboring utilities due to lack of supply. Our total water production for 2004 was 5% less than that of 2003.
The long-term perspective, however, projects a totally different picture. Our customer base is still growing at 2% per year and we expect our increases in peak summertime demands to match or exceed that growth rate.
Meeting peak summertime demand is our primary water source challenge. We expect that by the year 2020, our current peak daily demand of 7 million gallons per day (MGD) will rise to nearly 9 MGD. With our primary source, Branch Brook, providing as little as 3 MGD during the dry summer season, a severe water shortage would appear imminent. Fortunately, an additional 3 MGD is now available as a result of new interconnection agreements with neighboring utilities. Also, as a result of our on-going ground water investigations, pending regulatory approval, we may soon have 3 MGD of additional ground water supply at our disposal. This means that we should soon have a total peak capacity of about 9 MGD.
In spite of this positive news, we still have to address our true long-term source of supply needs. To think of long-term source of supply for a time span of anything less than 50 years would be at best, short-sighted. Our existing service area, when fully matured, could require in excess of 20 MGD. When we consider the future water needs of our service area and that of the surrounding communities, it becomes apparent that our region's long-term water supply will have little resemblance to that of today. Simply put, our future source of supply will be the Saco River, Sebago Lake, the Atlantic Ocean or some combination of the three. These options will involve significant capital costs amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
Several sets of dynamics are driving us in this direction. First, there are no other large sources of water supply in the region. Second, the world has changed as a result of 9/11. It has become apparent that significant water utility interconnections and back-up supplies are needed to help maintain safe, continual service during emergencies. Third, with respect to the cost of producing water, larger water treatment plants can provide for significant economies of scale.
What does this all mean? We have to start thinking beyond our traditional boundaries. The region's water utilities are in the process of forming a 'Council of Governments' type of organization, aimed at finding ways of working together to save costs, to support each other and to perform comprehensive, regional water supply planning. For more information on this initiative, visit our new web site at www.kkw.org.
We've gotten ahead of the water supply issue for now. With your help, in particular by conserving water during the peak summer season, we will be able to stay ahead of the issue without having to 'rush to the regional table' out of desperation. We will approach our long-term source of supply carefully and methodically, always staying focused on our mission of providing you with the best quality of water and service at the lowest reasonable cost.
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