AUBURN – The Auburn Board of Public Works is hoping water from a nearby creek will help end the current water emergency and return normal water operations for Auburn and Peru this summer.

Board Chairman Chuck Knipe said the weather has not only been abnormally dry, but the last five years are being called the second driest on record for the city. There has not been enough rainfall to recharge the city’s water table, but Knipe said the communities’ water conservation has been admirable.

 

 

At a special meeting Friday, the board agreed to seek bids on equipment that will clean water taken directly from Long’s Creek. The water would go from the cleaning station to the city’s treatment plant and then into the water system.

The creek idea will use a dam the utilities constructed 20 to 25 years ago when it extended a water line across the creek to the north industrial area. The dam causes sediment to silt over the water line and protects it from freezing.

Now, Knipe hopes the dam will provide a spot to pump creek water and hopefully end the city’s stage 3 water emergency.

 

 

City Councilman Tom Clark said the city is also using a stand-alone well near Optimist Lake to irrigate Tushla Field, which is host pf the Class B senior state tournament this summer. Clark said the well was originally used for the lake, but has not been used for 30 years.

Fields at the sports complex are being irrigated from water taken from the creek. Infield watering is provided by water trucked in.