OSCEOLA, Iowa — With just a "couple hundred days" worth of water remaining in Osceola's main primary water source, West Lake, the city is weighing its options amid severe drought it's faced for years.
Over the past two years, West Lake has received over a foot less of precipitation than where they should be at to avoid drought conditions.
Tim Hall, the Iowa DNR hydrology resources coordinator, says the city of Osceola could tap into surrounding community's water systems, or drilling deeper wells into the ground to provide more water.
The Iowa DNR don’t make the decisions for Osceola of what to do with their water, that’s up to the city. But the DNR will provide resources to any city in need.
For reference, the city of Des Moines treats their wastewater and then puts it back into the Des Moines River, where it flows downstream, and residents indirectly use that water.
Osceola's city council approved a new wastewater treatment facility, and now municipal officials are considering whether to recirculate wastewater into the West Lake watershed.
"The challenge we see in places like this is: you get one year of drought, 'It's OK, we can make it through'," Hall said. "You get two years, it starts to get a little pinched. You get three years, and it starts to be a real challenge for folks."
In the past few months, the city has met with residents to get their respective opinions on how to maneuver the murky future of the city's water supply. In addition, the city's water works board have also asked their residents to watch how they use their water.
Hall also said if there isn't any precipitation in the next "couple hundreds of days," then West Lake would dry out if the city can't find a second water source.
However, Hall says even if we have a dry winter due to El Niño, there will undoubtedly be moisture in the spring, because those are the wettest days.
Local 5 reached out to the Osceola mayor, city manager and Osceola Water Works, and none were available to speak.