Mary Hansen
The State Journal-Register
Discussion of an engineering contract to redesign Springfield’s proposed second lake turned to questions about what information is available from an ongoing environmental study on a backup water supply. City Water, Light and Power is completing the study so it can obtain a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin questioned utility officials about when the council could review documents that outline the need for Hunter Lake and provide an analysis of the alternatives.
“There’s a lot of division of opinion about this, so we want to make sure this is an above-board process with lots of information so that we can make a wise decision,” McMenamin said.
CWLP water division manager Ted Meckes stressed that the utility is waiting on initial approval from the Army Corps on a draft needs assessment before making it public.
The council then approved the $71,400 contract with Crawford Murphy & Tilly, a local engineering firm, for designs that reduce Hunter Lake’s capacity by 18 percent, and a corresponding cost estimate. The new design would include strategies to minimize the amount of phosphorus and other nutrients that can seep into the lake and cause algae blooms.
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Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 