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From YouTube: This Week in Ames | Water Utility turns 125
Description
The Ames Water Utility celebrates 125 years while preparing for the next 125.
A
A
B
A
B
Folks
may
not
realize
that
the
utility
actually
started
not
for
the
purpose
of
drinking
water,
but
for
fire
protection
aims.
You
know
in
the
late
1800s
the
main
street
district
was
all
wood
construction
which
was
common
in
in
this
us
at
that
point
in
time,
and
there
was
sort
of
a
mrs.
O'leary's
cow
type
of
a
fire
event
that
took
place
and
the
businesses
in
the
downtown
area
petitioned
the
city
council
to
create
some
sort
of
a
fire
protection
district.
B
A
B
It
has
and
we've
we've
got
a
history
of
the
utility,
that's
actually
being
written
right
now,
we're
very
close
to
getting
it
published,
but
looking
back
at
the
very
early
days
of
the
utility
chronicling,
a
lot
of
the
advancements
that
took
place
that
were
really
sort
of
on
the
cutting
edge
of
drinking
water
in
the
country
and
if
they
have
the
forefront
of
the
science
disinfecting
water,
filtering
water.
Those
were
all
things
that
we
were
right
on,
that
leading
edge
of
technology
and.
A
B
A
B
This
is
the
city
grows
and,
and
the
borders
expand.
We
have
to
adapt
the
distribution
system
to
be
able
to
provide
water
in
all
those
areas
and
in
the
early
2000s,
as
the
community
was
growing
to
the
west
and
southwest,
we
had
to
actually
break
the
city
into
two
different
pressure
zones
and
that
resulted
in
the
water
tower
that
sat
on
North
Dakota
being
out
of
service
for
a
lot
of
years.
Folks,
droving
by
you,
know
the
last
ten
years
probably
didn't
know.
There
was
nothing.
A
A
B
The
the
new
water
plant
is
actually
a
25-percent
expansion
and
capacity
over
what
we
have
right
now,
so
we'll
be
able
to
treat
up
to
15
million
gallons
a
day
at
this
new
facility
and
the
design
of
the
plant
and
the
layout
in
the
site
was
designed
so
that
we
could
go
from
15
to
20
and
then
from
20
to
25
million
gallons
per
day.
So
we
believe
that
this
new
location
is
going
to
serve
the
community
for
possibly
another
hundred
years.
Even
that's.
B
It
was
a
record-setting
June
and
it
shows
the
impact
that
weather
and
outdoor
irrigation
has
on
water
demand.
June
of
2015
was
very
nearly
a
20-year
low
for
the
month
of
june,
and
now
june
of
2016
is
an
time
high
for
the
month
of
June,
and
it's
not
like.
We
grew
a
substantial
amount
in
the
last
year.
It
all
has
to
do
with
weather
and
outdoor
lawn
irrigation.
So
that's
why
we
always
want
to
continue
to
promote
the
message
for
people
to
be
smart
in
the
way
that
they
use
irrigation
systems.
B
We
don't
ask
people
to
not
water.
We
know
that's
not
a
reasonable
thing
for
us
to
ask,
but
we
want
them
to
make
sure
that
they
set
sprinklers
and
sprinkler
heads
so
that
it's
going
just
in
the
areas
that
it
needs.
It
make
sure
it's
not
watering
the
sidewalk
or
running
down
the
driveway.
Let's,
let's
try
to
make
the
best
use
of
that
limited
resource
that
we
can
well.
A
B
A
One
other
thing
that
is
kind
of
big
news
for
you
had
been
about
it
guess
it
was
in
May
when
you
released
a
map
of
properties
and
names
that
may
have
led
components
in
their
private
lead
service
line.
Since
releasing
that
map,
you've
had
contact
with
some
customers
who
would
like
their
water
tested.
How
did
those
tests
go?
Well,
we.
B
This
year
was
5.5
parts
per
billion
of
lead
again
compared
to
a
federal
action
level
of
15.
It
really
wasn't
all
that
surprising
to
us.
It's
pretty
consistent
with
results.
We've
seen
over
the
last
25
years
as
we
monitor,
but
it's
good
reassurance
for
those
those
customers
to
know
that
the
quality
of
the
water
being
provided
to
is
safe
and
we.
A
B
As
the
water
comes
out
of
the
ground,
there's
no
let
in
it
when
it
leaves
the
drinking
water
plant,
there's
no
lead
in
it.
The
source
really
is
the
home
or
business
plumbing
either
led
in
the
service
lines,
no
actual
lead
pipes,
or
maybe
its
lead
solder,
or
maybe
there's
bronze
fixtures
in
the
home.
Faucets
showerheads
things
like
that.
That's
where
the
source
of
the
lead
would
come
from
and.
B
Right,
we're
required
under
our
operations
permit
to
do
lead
testing
every
three
years,
we're
actually
going
to
start
a
new
cycle
of
that
will
actually
have
to
do
that
for
three
successive
six-month
periods,
because
the
population
of
Ames
has
grown
past
a
trigger
point
in
our
permit.
So
for
those
folks
who
have
been
a
part
of
that
sampling
pool
for
us,
for
you
know,
a
quarter
century
will
probably
be
knocking
on
their
doors
several
times
in
the
next
year
and
a
half
well.
A
A
We're
very
happy,
of
course,
to
have
to
know
to
feel
secure
that
our
aims
water
is
safe,
as
well
as
being
great
tasting.
That's
right!
Yeah,
thanks
John!
If
you
want
some
more
information
about
lead
in
the
drinking
water
or
the
absence
of
lead,
which
is
more
accurate,
make
sure
to
check
out
our
city
of
Ames
org
forward,
slash
lead
page
on
our
website.
You
can
get
all
sorts
of
information
on
lead
and
check
out
the
map
as
well.