CU adds to plant to protect James River fish

In an agreement between CU, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, CU will take steps to better control the temperature of water discharged from one of its cooling towers at the plant.

The tower sends water into Lake Springfield that is often several degrees warmer than the ambient water temperature. Lake Springfield flows into the James River. The DNR found that the rapid temperature fluctuations killed thousands of the river’s fish in 2001 and 2002.

The agreement calls for CU to add four cells to the existing cooler tower at the plant to increase the total capacity of the tower by about one-third. The increase would better control the temperature of cooling water that is discharged.

Mark Viguet, director of marketing at CU, said the cost to add the cells will be about $3.5 million, already available in the existing budget. The expense will have no effect on customer rates, he said.

CU also agreed to pay $54,999 to the state to resolve Nixon’s concerns. Included in the payment is $44,860 to the Missouri Department of Conservation to protect and promote aquatic resources, and $10,139 to DNR for its investigation costs.