CU rents pumps at Stockton Lake

Kansas City-based Lee Mathews Equipment Inc. will lease barge-mounted and land-based electric pumps that together are expected to pump up to 14 million gallons of water a day from Stockton Lake to CU’s water storage in Fellows and McDaniel lakes. The system will be operational within two weeks and will run for 60 days.

The need for temporary equipment comes after CU’s third – and final – pump at Stockton Lake failed March 31, most likely because of a lightning strike. CU’s other two pumps failed last fall when their motors overheated.

CU also is desperate to restore its Stockton Lake pumping because of current drought conditions, which continue to hurt the area’s water supply. Rainfall in Springfield is about five inches below normal for the year.

The temporary system’s pumping capability – along with about 14 million gallons pumped from the James River per day – are expected to meet CU’s average 32.4 million gallons per day usage.

This story originally appeared in SBJ’s April 17 free e-news Daily Update. Click here to register.