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“Water, water, every where,
“And all the boards did shrink;
“Water, water, every where,
“Nor any drop to drink.”
The quote from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the early 1800s English Romantic poet, exemplifies concerns that Maryville residents put behind them almost 20 years ago when city officials finally began to move forward with construction of Mozingo Lake and subsequently an expanded state-of-the-art water treatment facility.
Until Mozingo Creek was impounded to create the 1,009-acre lake just more than three miles east of the city, Maryville was totally dependent on the flow of the One Hundred and Two River for its water, not only for residential use, but also for Northwest Missouri State University, local industrial plants, and the rural district contracted with the city for water.
If you have ever traveled across that meandering stream that for so long brought feast — as well as famine — to locals and area farmers, it is understandable why there was reason for concern about the city’s water source, even at the best of times. The 102 can be anything — from a pleasant, gently flowing waterway suitable for fishing, swimming at its several sandy beaches, or, at times, canoeing beneath the shade of magnificent old cottonwood trees to a rip-roaring muddy mess capable of tearing those ancient trees up by their roots and carrying them for miles downstream, along with tons of fertile farmland swept away as the river sprawls over its banks.
At the other end of the spectrum, the flow can become practically non-existent, as it did on more than one occasion in the late 1980s and early 90s.
Neither scenario is suitable for a supplier that can be called upon to provide as much as 2.9 million gallons of precisely treated water during a 24-hour period in boiling Northwest Missouri summers. Together, however, and combined with increased water quality requirements, they made the decisions to develop a new water source relatively simple.
And the impoundment that was originally envisioned as a “supplemental water supply source” for the city is now its only source — relying on the lion’s share of the 24,877 acre-feet of water backed up for almost five miles behind the $6.5 million dam located just north of U.S. Highway 136. According to calculations by the federal Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service when the reservoir was under construction, 10,222 of its total acre-feet are designated “for municipal and industrial water storage,” according to a use development plan compiled by Mitzi Lutz for the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments in 1995. Allocation of the remaining water in the lake is divided between recreation (5,283 acre-feet) and flood prevention and sediment control (9,372 acre-feet).
“Water, water, every where,
“And all the boards did shrink;
“Water, water, every where,
“Nor any drop to drink.”
The quote from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the early 1800s English Romantic poet, exemplifies concerns that Maryville residents put behind them almost 20 years ago when city officials finally began to move forward with construction of Mozingo Lake and subsequently an expanded state-of-the-art water treatment facility.
Until Mozingo Creek was impounded to create the 1,009-acre lake just more than three miles east of the city, Maryville was totally dependent on the flow of the One Hundred and Two River for its water, not only for residential use, but also for Northwest Missouri State University, local industrial plants, and the rural district contracted with the city for water.
If you have ever traveled across that meandering stream that for so long brought feast — as well as famine — to locals and area farmers, it is understandable why there was reason for concern about the city’s water source, even at the best of times. The 102 can be anything — from a pleasant, gently flowing waterway suitable for fishing, swimming at its several sandy beaches, or, at times, canoeing beneath the shade of magnificent old cottonwood trees to a rip-roaring muddy mess capable of tearing those ancient trees up by their roots and carrying them for miles downstream, along with tons of fertile farmland swept away as the river sprawls over its banks.
At the other end of the spectrum, the flow can become practically non-existent, as it did on more than one occasion in the late 1980s and early 90s.
Neither scenario is suitable for a supplier that can be called upon to provide as much as 2.9 million gallons of precisely treated water during a 24-hour period in boiling Northwest Missouri summers. Together, however, and combined with increased water quality requirements, they made the decisions to develop a new water source relatively simple.
And the impoundment that was originally envisioned as a “supplemental water supply source” for the city is now its only source — relying on the lion’s share of the 24,877 acre-feet of water backed up for almost five miles behind the $6.5 million dam located just north of U.S. Highway 136. According to calculations by the federal Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service when the reservoir was under construction, 10,222 of its total acre-feet are designated “for municipal and industrial water storage,” according to a use development plan compiled by Mitzi Lutz for the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments in 1995. Allocation of the remaining water in the lake is divided between recreation (5,283 acre-feet) and flood prevention and sediment control (9,372 acre-feet).
The average water consumption in a 24-hour period processed through the Maryville treatment plant is 2.3 million gallons. The peak “on a really hot day in August” can approach 3 million gallons, according to Maryville Public Works Director Greg Decker.
As much as 400,000 gallons per day that goes through the city treatment plant is consumed by the rural water district that serves more than 2,300 customers. Aside from individual connections, those customers include the state Department of Corrections facility near the lake, the abbey at Conception, the convent at Clyde and several smaller towns in the area, including Guilford, Pickering and Quitman. Hopkins and Burlington Junction are possible customers in emergency situations.
“We received certification from the DNR (Missouri Department of Natural Resources) in 2004 for our new water treatment plant,” Decker said. The rated capacity of that facility is five million gallons of water per day.
“The water from the lake is a great resource for the city, from a quality as well as a quantity standpoint,” Decker said, noting that additives are necessary to enable the natural impurities to be removed effectively. “We actually ‘dirty’ the water so we can clean it,” he said.
What effect does water the city pulls from Mozingo have on the lake itself? “This time of year, we’ll have a quarter to a half inch of evaporation, which is more than we’ll use in any given day,” Decker said.
Operation of the entire Mozingo Lake facility is a multi-million dollar annual outlay and the $2,060,406 budget for the 2009 fiscal year is independent of all other city funds, according to Maryville City Manager Matt LeCerf. “Mozingo, solid waste and our water and sewer operations are self-sustaining and must each have balanced budget, as does our general fund,” he said.
The largest single source of revenue for the park’s operation is user fees, including an estimated $550,000 from the golf course green fees, cart rental and related sources. Income from recreational vehicle spaces, tent camping space and cabin rentals, boat launch charges and various other concessions make up the balance. Revenue from collection of the half-cent municipal sales tax totals approximately $830,000. That revenue stream does not include the $315,000 grant received this year to build the hiking/biking trail now nearly completed between the RV area and Flag Point.
The other major outlay at the park this year is the construction of concrete cart paths at the golf course — being done by Loch Sand and Construction Co. of Maryville at an estimated cost of $685,000. (The cost to build the 18-hole championship course 15 years ago was approximately $1.75 million.)
A major goal for 2009-10 is increased promotion of the golfing operation in an effort to increase the approximately 25,000 rounds played annually.
Ron Darnell, who has been at the course since 1994, was named director of golf operations earlier this year after PGA professional Rick Schultz resigned. Schultz’s longtime assistant, Payton Whitworth, is in charge of clubhouse operations.
Whitworth estimated last week that the course plays at “about 50 percent capacity. You wouldn’t want every possible tee time filled, but we can certainly handle more rounds than we see now,” he said.
He said that aside from Maryville (34.3 percent) and Nodaway County golfers, the major drawing areas are St. Joseph, Kansas City and other Northwest Missouri communities. Beginning at $14 for nine holes, charges to play at Mozingo are very competitive with other area courses available for public play.
There are tentative plans to work with marketing classes at Northwest Missouri State University to assist in the development of a comprehensive promotional plan for the golf course and other park amenities.
