City Water, Light and Power was one of three water systems in North America awarded the American Water Works Association’s Exemplary Source Water Protection Award for developing or implementing the highest level of source water protection. The award was presented to CWLP for a number of measures accomplished with a broad coalition of the utility’s watershed partners, which are improving and protecting the source water supply for Springfield’s drinking water. For the award, AWWA noted programs and planning in place to reduce and remove sediment and nutrient loading into Lake Springfield, including shoreline stabilization, cover crops, conservation tillage and split/reduced fertilizer application.
CWLP Water Division Manager Ted Meckes noted long standing water source protection in practice for Lake Springfield. “A number of watershed protection practices for Lake Springfield began in the 1980s, with roughly 75% of the land in agricultural use, the City began partnering with land owners, farmers, chemical companies and others with common goals,” said CWLP Water Division Manager Ted Meckes. “With this group invested, we’ve been able to take a multi-barrier approach, on a voluntary basis, to keep sediment and nutrients from entering the lake, which reduces our treatment and chemical costs while benefiting the environment.”
“I’m thankful the American Water Works Association is recognizing what we’ve been able to accomplish here in our watershed,” said CWLP Chief Utility Engineer Doug Brown. “Our Water Division Manager Ted Meckes and our Land & Water Resources Division have done an outstanding job in working with our partners to expand outreach and education, but also secure multiple grants and implement cost-sharing programming, to improve the water quality of Lake Springfield, our city’s only source for drinking water.”
CWLP has also worked with federal, state and local agencies and non-governmental partners to improve the water quality of the Lake Springfield Watershed through grants and educational outreach. This AWWA award follows an announcement in April of USDA funding of $1.29 million, to be matched with CWLP and land partner resources of another $1.29 million to cover five years of programming for outreach and education as well as implementation of projects to prevent nitrogen, phosphorus and other sediment loads from entering into Lake Springfield.
CWLP partnered with the Sangamon County Soil and Water Conservation District, leading to formation of the Lake Springfield Watershed Resource Planning Committee (LSWRPC) in 1990. In 2017 the LSWRPC developed a long-range source water protection plan (https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/Documents/iepa/water-quality/watershed-management/watershed-based-planning/2018/lake-springfield/lswmp-wbmp.pdf) to address agricultural resource concerns and urban issues in the watershed. Cost-share programs between the utility and land owners have been implemented for reducing soil erosion and nutrient and sediment runoff.
Other water systems receiving this award from AWWA included the Tahoe Water Suppliers Association, a grouping of California and Nevada agencies using Lake Tahoe as a water source, and Beaver Water District in Arkansas, which uses Beaver Lake as a water source.