Improvements Allow City to Meet Increased Demands

Council Bluffs Water Works was facing increasing industrial and commercial water demands that could not be met with the existing Council Bluffs Narrows Water Treatment Plant and its daily output of 20 million gallons. In addition, the existing distribution system could not accommodate the growth in the southern portion of the service area without substantial improvements. Engineering studies revealed that the most cost-effective solution was the development of a new wellfield and 5 MGD water purification plant located on the south edge of the city. Together, Council Bluffs Water Works and HDR enhanced the strength of the city’s water system with the comprehensive planning, design and construction of the Council Point Water Treatment Plant.

The expansion of the wellfield and water purification plant required careful planning to address not only the technical factors involved in treating the water (such as high levels of iron, manganese and hardness found in the raw water), but also the development of the sites, costs, changes in technology since the original plant construction, permitting requirements and long-term objectives.

The CPWTP was designed to be readily expanded to 10 MGD without major construction. The overall site and aquifer have an expansion capacity up to 20 MGD. Completed in 2022, this facility provides a secondary source of water for the growing community of Council Bluffs and improves both the redundancy and reliability of the City’s water supply. In the near-term, it will reduce transmission main costs for service to growth areas and will provide the necessary infrastructure for future expansion.

From the beginning, the CPWTP grew from a belief among CBWW and City leadership that one of the best ways to provide for long-term growth was to construct a new water treatment plant to provide reliable, high-quality drinking water to their customers. In an era of increasing demands for reliable, redundant and resilient sources of clean drinking water, CBWW took on the challenge in an innovative way — building a new water purification facility that exceeds expectations on all levels.

The finished water quality is consistently exceptional, meeting the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.