Sanitary Sewer System

Issues Affecting Waste Water Service and Capacity

Water System

Issues Affecting Water Service and Capacity

Parks and Recreation

Emergency Services

Public services and facilities, such as the water and sewer systems, parks, recreation programs and emergency services have a direct effect on the quality of life of El Dorado residents. The adequacy and condition of these facilities and services influence city budget decisions. These facilities also have a significant impact on the environmental quality of the community. Proper planning to determine how these services and facilities will meet the needs of the city over the next 20 years is of utmost importance to the future of El Dorado.

The adequacy of public facilities will determine how El Dorado can grow efficiently while maintaining its strong community presence. Three major municipal facilities -- the water system, the sewer system and the park system -- are examined in this Chapter on the basis of their current delivery of service. The emergency services which the city provides -- fire and police protection -- also are highlighted in terms of their ability to adequately serve the growing sections of the city.

Poorly designed distribution systems can distort growth, allowing development to occur haphazardly in unplanned areas. Poorly planned growth leads to an inefficient use of land which results in increasing development, operating and environmental costs, and will ultimately reduce the level-of-service available to all users of municipal facilities.

The Comprehensive Plan presents the basis for planning new growth by examining factors which affect growth, such as population trends and forecasts, the area economy, existing land uses and the status of existing and planned public facilities. Basic land use regulation will ultimately bring tangible results to the planning process through appropriate plat and site plan review procedures.

Return to Top

To avoid health and environmental problems, an adequate sanitary sewer system must be in place to serve the community. In addition, growth of the city will not be possible without the ability of all components of the sanitary sewer system to accommodate the increased flows that result. Because conventional sewer systems depend on gravity to flow, topography is a constraining factor. Careful planning of sewer lines is necessary to sustain a continual flow downhill, creating a more efficient and less costly operating system.

Lift stations are used when topographical constraints make gravity flow of the sanitary sewer system impossible. Although they solve a problem, they are expensive to install, and cause increased maintenance and operational costs because of the constant attention and energy that the pumps need. The City of El Dorado operates and maintains ten lift stations at the following general locations:

• North of the intersection of Country Club Road and McCollum Road;
• On East 12th Avenue, in the Criss Addition;
• At the intersection of Main Street and Eighth Avenue;
• North of Sixth Avenue and East of Orchard Street;
• On the Southwest Trafficway, East of S.W. Terrace;
• At the east end of Glenview Drive;
• At the West Turnpike Interchange;
• At the end of Kacy Court
• On the state correctional facility property approximately 3/4 of a mile east of the city limits; and
• At the Northeast corner of Central and River Road.

The City of El Dorado operates a wastewater treatment plant located in the south central portion of the city on the Walnut River. Wastewater receives secondary treatment, through the use of trickling filters and rotating biological disks. The treated effluent is then released into the Walnut River.

Treatment plant capacity consists of the ability to provide adequate treatment (removal) prior to effluent discharge, in accordance with the city's NPDES permit. Individual treatment units have organic capacities, which if exceeded, will result in violations of the permit. In addition to the organic loading parameters, the treatment facility also has hydraulic limitations which must be considered to prevent violations.

The El Dorado wastewater treatment plant was built in 1956. A 1977 Facilities Plan recommended improvements to the wastewater treatment plant which would allow the city to meet the needs of the population up to the year 2000. New items proposed in the Facilities Plan, and subsequently completed in 1983, included two extraneous flow basins, pump stations, biodisk basin, final clarifiers, emergency generator, vacuum filter and sludge hauling vehicle. The existing treatment plant capacity is 4.5 million gallons per day (MGD). It serves approximately 15,000 people, including 4,800 connections in the City of El Dorado, Butler County Sewer Districts No. 5 and No. 15 and the El Dorado state correctional facility just east of El Dorado. Average daily flow for 1999 was approximately 2.53 MGD. Peak flows are high, due to inflow/infiltration (I/I) in the system during rainy periods, but the 1983 system improvements have eliminated the majority of overflows and bypasses. An update of the Facilities Plan was begun in 1997. This study determined that to serve the 2020 population, the treatment plant capacity would need to be increased to meet an average flow of 3.0 MGD with the ability to treat a peak flow rate of 9.0 MGD. Subsequent to this study, a disinfection facility was added to the treatment train. A pilot plant was constructed to test the ability of a wetlands to provide the necessary treatment. The need for new sludge treatment and handling facilities was also identified.

Table 3.1 shows the number of gallons of wastewater treated between 1985 and 1999 and the cost of treatment. Since 1985, the volume of effluent treated has increased by 70% while the cost per million gallons for treatment has risen by 37.0%, primarily as a result of several "dry" years and reduced I/I.

Return to Top

• The theoretical excess dry weather capacity of the entire sanitary sewer system must be determined. Of primary concern will be the various lines in the northeastern portion of the city, the Eighth and Main Street a lift station and the wastewater treatment plant.
• Once the city identifies the limiting components of the sanitary sewer system, a plan for upgrading its capacity needs to be incorporated into the capital improvement program.
• The amount of system capacity that is lost due to I/I was determined in the recent update of the facilities plan. A program for eliminating as much of the I/I as possible from the system has been developed and implemented.
• The city has rehabilitated approximately 300 manholes and 2,300 feet of sanitary sewer mains. Efforts must now be concentrated on the reduction of infiltration and inflow from private property.
• Since expansion of sanitary sewer service will be limited regardless of the actions taken to upgrade the system, development should be directed to those areas where costs of installation and future maintenance are the lowest.
• The railroad and the river present obstacles to gravity extension of the wastewater collection system on the east, however, these have been addressed to an extent with the construction of the lift station of River Road.
• Possible expansion of the Correctional Facility or other improvements in the vicinity should be evaluated in terms of impact on the existing pump station, force main, downstream sewers and treatment plant capacity.
• Special consideration and construction techniques will be necessary when installing sewers in the floodplain to prevent the incursion of additional sources of extraneous flow.

Return to Top

As with the sanitary sewer system, an effective water distribution system is essential to the growth and development of the City of El Dorado. While topography does not present the same constraints on the water distribution system as it does a sewer system, it too must be carefully planned to ensure orderly development while maintaining quality service to customers. In addition to providing quality potable water, the system must provide an adequate water supply for fire fighting purposes.

There is an important link between land planning and utility planning. For instance, the presence of water lines in an undeveloped area will encourage growth to occur in that area. Also, water lines are often extended to the areas surrounding a city by rural water districts or the city itself and these areas may not be easily accessible to sanitary sewer service. If a city is to grow in an orderly fashion it must designate areas for expansion in a future land use plan and plan its capital expenditures for utility extensions in accordance with that plan.

The three main components of a public water system are supply, storage and distribution. Each component must be designed properly for the entire system to function efficiently. In El Dorado, water is supplied by the El Dorado Lake through a network of pipes and ultimately to the customer. Table 3.2 shows the average daily usage of water between 1983 and 1999. Water usage has risen by 36% since 1983.

The El Dorado Lake is an abundant source of water, having a firm yield of 22 MGD during a 50-year drought. The city also has the capacity to take water from the Walnut River, but this alternative is reserved as an emergency back up. The city water system supplies treated water to approximately 13,000 customers in the city and approximately 10,000 customers beyond the city.

The presence of this abundant water resource creates demand from neighboring users, as well as a potential for economic development. As a result, the City of El Dorado must balance its plans for public facilities and service with its related plans for compatible and coordinated land use development.

The city's drinking water is treated at a water treatment plant with a capacity to treat 8.5 MGD. During the summer when water usage is high, the plant operates at over 70% capacity, treating 6.0 MGD.

The abundance of water at El Dorado Lake enables the City of El Dorado to supply treated water to six water districts and one incorporated area. These other users account for 10,000 of the city's 23,000 total treated water users. The city also sells raw water (untreated) to two area industries, Frontier and Derby and to the City of Augusta. Table 3.3 summarizes the use and sale of water by the City of El Dorado in 1991 and 1999.

The city has a water storage capacity of 2.250 MG with three elevated storage tanks throughout the city and a 1.0 MG clearwell at the water treatment plant. Elevated storage tanks are located at the following locations:

• Lincoln School (250,000 gallon);
• Northeast corner of McCollum and Country Club (500,000 gallon); and
• El Dorado Industrial Park (500,000 gallon).

A recent engineering study concluded that the city currently has sufficient water storage capacity. However, in the next 20 years more capacity will be needed. The 125,000-gallon storage tank at Summit and Locust, which was removed in 1999, will eventually be replaced with a 500,000-gallon tank. This would allow not only for greater storage, but also a more efficient system.

Return to Top

• A plan for the long-term use of the raw water supply from El Dorado Lake has been approved by the City Commission. This plan reserves approximately one million gallons per day for use within the City of El Dorado and limits the amount that will be sold to outside entities to approximately one million gallons per day.
• An analysis of the water treatment plant capacity was performed in the early-1990’s. Subsequent to that study, an expansion of the treatment plant was performed. This was put on line in 1998. It is projected that this expansion will serve the City’s needs until 2008. At that time the treatment capabilities will need to be expanded by constructing parallel facilities as the existing plant can not economically be expanded further.
• An analysis of the water distribution system was performed by Black and Veatch to determine improvements required to provide adequate service to existing customers and to allow for planning to serve future development. The analysis provides data on the sizing and location of such improvements as water towers and transmission mains and points out existing undersized mains and areas of inadequate looping or interconnections of water mains.

 Return to Top

One of the most visible measures of the quality of life in a community is its parks and recreation system. Parks provide places for rest and relaxation and also enhance the visual quality of the community. A recreation program provides for athletic participation among residents of a community resulting in an interaction of those residents. The City of El Dorado has an extensive parks system serving nearly every developed sector of the community with few exceptions. This section includes an inventory of the city's park land and recreational facilities. The inventory is compared with national, state and local standards to establish recommendations for park system improvements and to show how El Dorado has met or exceeded these standards.

Different types of parks serve different functions in a community, each having different spatial, location and equipment needs. Three basic types of parks generally serve a community: regional, community and neighborhood parks.

Regional Parks serve an area consisting of one or more counties and contain at least 100 acres. The primary attraction of a regional park is a large-scale recreational amenity such as a lake or wilderness area.

Community Parks provide separate facilities for quiet and active play. Competitive sports, passive entertainment, large group gatherings, and individual usage are the characteristics of citywide, community parks.

Neighborhood Parks serve the local residents of a specific area of the city. These parks are generally less than eight acres in size and contain relatively unstructured facilities such as playground equipment, picnic tables and basketball courts.

Obviously, there is some overlap between these categories. In particular, community parks often double as neighborhood parks for the immediate surrounding area. It is also common for a park to be in one category based on its size but another category based on its function.

As shown in Table 3.4, the National Recreation and Park Association recommends at least 28.5 acres in neighborhood parks and 72.2 acres in community parks for a city the size of El Dorado. Although El Dorado has an extensive and well-dispersed system, the City is well below this recommended acreage. The National Recreation and Park Association also recommends size ranges for these types of facilities. Neighborhood parks in a city the size of El Dorado range from 6 to 8 acres; while community parks range from 20-35 acres. Most of the neighborhood and community parks in El Dorado fall below these ranges which are used as guides for park development. The uniqueness of every jurisdiction plays an important role in the development of parks including their size, location and amenities.

El Dorado State Park, which includes the 8,000 surface acre El Dorado Lake, serves as a regional park. A regional park, by definition, is not exclusive to one community, rather it serves a larger geographical area. Certainly the City of El Dorado benefits considerably by the proximity of the park's many facilities including a marina, beaches, nature trail, picnic sites and amphitheater. This park by far exceeds the recommended Regional Park acreage for the City.

The National Recreation and Park Association has also set standards for recreational facilities based on the population of the community. Table 3.5 uses these standards in addition to State and regional facility standards to compare to El Dorado's recreational facilities. With the exception of needed tennis court, the City of El Dorado meets the guidelines. Table 3.5 shows additional facilities needed to meet future growth.

Neighborhood Size in Community Size in Regional Size in