LWS: a history of service and quality

The Lincoln Water System (LWS) has been providing safe water to City residents for 124 years. The first municipal well was completed in 1883. Growing demand and a persistent problem with salty wells caused a City water crisis in the 1920s. Voters approved a $2 million bond issue to build five wells, a pump station and a water main to the City from the Platte River wellfield. The first water treatment plant was built in 1935.

The source of Lincoln’s high-quality water is a river aquifer that provides natural filtering through sand formations. LWS treats and disinfects the well water before sending it to customers.

LWS pumped almost 14 billion gallons of water in 2005 to serve 238,800 people who used an average of 38 million gallons of water each day. Water samples from homes and businesses are tested daily. In addition to the government-mandated testing for nearly 100 regulated compounds, LWS regularly tests water to make sure the treatment process at the plant is working correctly. All water supplied by LWS exceeds every state and federal safe drinking water standard.

System improvements have been ongoing, but the 1990s saw about $90 million in improvements, with the building of new wells, a second treatment plant, a new pump station and a new transmission main. Today LWS is a state-of-the-art operation, with 1,200 miles of water mains, 42 wells and numerous pumping stations. LWS also is a vital part of the City’s fire protection network, maintaining a system of more than 9,000 fire hydrants.

LWS is totally self-supporting and uses no general fund tax dollars. User fees pay for all improvements as well as operation and maintenance costs. Surveys show Lincoln water rates to be much lower than other systems in Lancaster County and very comparable to other cities in the region (see chart on this page).

To keep costs down, LWS coordinates its water main replacement projects with road, storm sewer or wastewater replacement projects. A 2004 effort to reduce electricity costs is another example of the LWS focus on efficiency. When electricity rates rose a few years ago, the Ashland Water Production Division devised an efficiency plan for the plant’s numerous pumps. The plan was implemented in summer 2004 and saved the City $122,000 that fiscal year compared to the year before, while pumping almost the same amount of water. The plant efficiency, measured in “dollars per million gallons pumped,” went from $42.60 during fiscal year 2002-2003 to $35.30 in 2003-2004. The Ashland team was honored with a Mayor’s Award of Excellence for its efforts.

While the number of water users has increased 18 percent over the past 15 years, the number of employees in the Lincoln Water System increased only 11 percent. Over the same period, treatment plant capacity has increased 83 percent; three pumping stations and four reservoirs have been added; and the miles of pipeline have increased 29 percent.

A survey of 202 water and wastewater systems nationwide shows that the median number of accounts per employee is 467. The Lincoln Water System is much more efficient, handling 665 accounts per employee.

For the convenience of customers and to increase efficiency, LWS offers a number of payment options including electronic withdrawal and e-billing with no additional fee.

LWS rates are designed to encourage conservation - the more water you use, the higher your rate. The Mayor’s Water Conservation Task Force was formed in 1988 to promote voluntary conservation. The task force works with individuals and businesses to encourage and support conservation practices. It also promotes the use of plants and landscaping that use less water. The group’s annual action plan has earned Lincoln the national designation as a Groundwater Guardian Community every year since 1995.

LWS has developed detailed plans to continue to meet the City’s future needs. Funding for the replacement of water mains has increased ten-fold since the early 1990s. In the current fiscal year, $2.7 million is budgeted for water main replacement projects. New projects under way include the selection of a location for an elevated reservoir in southeast Lincoln and its design; design of a large transmission main; and construction on numerous distribution system mains for the continued growth of the community.

For more information on LWS, visit the City Web site at lincoln.ne.gov (keyword: LWS) or click here.

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