When the reverse osmosis system being built by Cherokee Metropolitan District’s wastewater treatment plant becomes operational, it should improve water quality. The new system is scheduled to be operational in January 2023.Dave Doran, president of the board of directors of the Upper Black Squirrel Creek Water Management District called the new system ìa positive move.îMike Wireman, hydrogeologist for the UBS agreed. He said if operated properly, the reverse osmosis system will bring the TDS (total dissolved solids) levels in the effluent down to the required 400 ppm. Current levels are around 550. Wireman said when Cherokee starts discharging the lower levels of TDS, the cleaner water will help bring down the overall TDS level in the basinHowever, both men disagree with Cherokee’s claim to have raised the water level in the basin by 40 feet. Doran calls the claim ìan oversimplification.î He said other factors such as the decrease of crops grown in the southern part of the UBS that leads to less water used for irrigation have contributed to the rise in water level.Wireman said Cherokee has presented no evidence to back up their claim. Since Cherokee’s effluent is discharged in the extreme southern end of the UBS, he said they have replenished only a few miles in the southern end of the district.Donald Booker, who grows 130 acres of sod on Judge Orr Road, said the higher levels of TDS currently being discharged by Cherokee do not affect him since he is well north of the discharge area. He said that since Cherokee pumps water out of wells in the northern part of the district, they should have to discharge effluent into the northern part of the district.The lower TDS levels mandated to Cherokee are based on agricultural interests rather than drinking water standards. However, Doran said the number of agricultural water users in the area are decreasing while the numbers of residential users are increasing.ìOur job is to keep it (water) as pristine as we can keep it,î Doran said, adding, ìThis is some of the most pristine alluvial water in the state. We don’t care what they (Cherokee Metro) are doing. We want water quality as pristine as possible.îAmy Lathen, executive director of Cherokee Metro District, weighed in on the conversation. Lathen said that as part of the agreement between Cherokee and UBS, Cherokee agreed that it would no longer export water from its wells in the northern part of the district. She said to her knowledge that agreement is the only agreement between UBS and a water user that required the water user to recharge the aquifer. Since that agreement, Lathen said that Cherokee has agreed to further restrictions in the use of its northern wells. She said those restrictions have resulted in significant increases in the amount of water available to other water rights in the area.ìCherokee has done more than any other water user to accomplish recharge of the alluvial aquifer in the UBS basin,î Lathen said. ìAnd Cherokee remains committed to these efforts because the sustainability and quality of that water is of critical importance to Cherokee.î
