http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

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The Regional Water Rural Water Association treatment plant ran nonstop a record 72 days this summer, struggling to keep up with higher than usual demand. The district’s wells were drying up, leading the utility to draw on reserves in the nine water towers. Water demand was too high to shut the plant down for maintenance as is typically done every couple of days. The alert urging all water customers to eliminate all nonessential water use remained in effect. Businesses and livestock producers were to cut back as much as possible. To curb water use, some dairies and cattle and hog producers near Council Bluffs hauled water from there. Council Bluffs said that its bulk water sales spiked 76% in June compared to a year earlier. Measures taken to keep the taps flowing included the construction of a riffle dam on a branch of the Nishnabotna River to raise the water level and recharge the shallow wells that feed the district’s wells. Des Moines Register (Iowa), Nov 30, 2023 Mandatory, nonessential water restrictions remained in place in Avoca and other towns in Pottawattamie County and the surrounding area since the end of May. Due to the high water demand, the Regional Water Rural Water Association’s water treatment plant has been running nonstop for the past 18 days without a moment of downtime for maintenance because people would run out of water if the plant were shut down. WOWT TV 6 (Omaha, Neb.), Aug 2, 2023