Water-Related News

County water planning will require work, board told

AUBURNDALE — If Polk County’s public utilities hope to develop the 46 million gallons per day of additional water they’ll need to meet demand by 2035, a lot of work lies ahead of them, a team of consultants told the Polk County Water Cooperative board Monday [Aug. 15].

The cooperative, which was officially formed earlier this year, is a countywide effort to work together to qualify for state and water management district funding to help pay for projects that will be developed over the next decade and will cost more than $600 million.

This will involve more than the significant challenges of selecting projects and finding the money to pay for them. It also will involve efforts to help to shape regulations that will affect the rules for getting permits for additional water, said consultant David MacIntyre.