{"id":25322,"date":"2015-10-22T11:30:55","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T16:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=25322"},"modified":"2015-10-22T12:05:22","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T17:05:22","slug":"african-crisis-leads-to-new-water-treatment-option-for-oklahoma-towns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2015\/10\/22\/african-crisis-leads-to-new-water-treatment-option-for-oklahoma-towns\/","title":{"rendered":"African Crisis Leads To New Water Treatment Option For Oklahoma Towns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_25329\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25329\" alt=\"Water4's Steve Stewart demonstrates the electricity-free water pump the organization uses in its charitable work in Africa. \" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-22-CWS1-e1445529951272.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-22-CWS1-e1445529951272.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-22-CWS1-e1445529951272-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-22-CWS1-e1445529951272-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2015\/10\/PHOTO-10-22-CWS1-e1445529951272-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Water4&#39;s Steve Stewart demonstrates the electricity-free water pump the organization uses in its charitable work in Africa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Oklahoma\u2019s small water systems face a big problem: Drinking water standards are <a title=\"WSJlink\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB10001424052748704117304575137692217907232\" target=\"_blank\">getting stricter<\/a>, their treatment plants are <a title=\"StateImpactLink\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2012\/12\/27\/america-can-fix-its-crumbling-water-infrastructure-if-you-help-pay-for-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">becoming obsolete<\/a>, and many cities and towns can\u2019t get the loans and grants needed for expensive upgrades. But one Oklahoma City company says it found a potential solution \u2014 in Africa.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/229588780&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">From Africa to Oklahoma<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a title=\"Water4Link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.water4.org\/what-we-do\/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwkqKxBRCIrK_riNm13Z8BEiQAdzdVkH-SumpDdQ5hkBvS5RntxQfYMj2LHWL803kE1d_OcTIaAtoq8P8HAQ\" target=\"_blank\">Water4<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit based in a former chop shop in Oklahoma City, is an unusual charity. In fact, founder Richard Greenly doesn\u2019t like being called a charity at all.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe don\u2019t give stuff away,\u201d he says. \u201cWe empower people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">He says conventional charity hasn\u2019t solved Africa\u2019s water access problem.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe problem is well meaning non-profit organizations come in, and they shove the people aside, and they say, \u2018we\u2019re going to fix your problem for you,\u2019\u201d Greenly says. \u201cAnd they bring in a million dollar drilling rig. Their water squirts out of the ground. Everybody\u2019s cheering. Everybody gets their photo-op. The rig drives away. The nonprofit goes home. The well breaks in 11 months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Instead, Water4 trains locals to drill water wells and install pumps using the cheap, electricity-free method Water4\u2019s Steve Stewart came up with.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The idea is for locals to use that knowledge to start their own water well drilling businesses that charge about a penny a gallon. That money is used to maintain and expand the business to eventually treat water and pipe it to peoples\u2019 homes.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/onZdbBvIjz4\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">These tiny, private water utilities are springing up all over the continent, and provide the inspiration for a new option for small Oklahoma systems that can\u2019t afford expensive new water treatment plants.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">Can&#8217;t someone else do it?<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Oklahoma\u2019s water infrastructure needs are staggering.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe next 50 years, infrastructure need is over $82 billion just in the state of Oklahoma for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure,\u201d J.D. Strong with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board tells StateImpact.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Small systems are least able to afford such outlandish costs, can quickly max out their ability to get giant loans, and grant money is scant.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In early 2014, a for-profit company sprung out of Water4: Community Water Solutions. Since then, CWS project manager Tyler Butel has been pitching small town leaders on a way out.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cRather than the town actually buying the system and running the system and removing the nitrates themselves, what we\u2019ll do is actually put in that treatment part of it,\u201d Butel says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">CWS will build a water treatment plant for a small town, with the company\u2019s own money. The city doesn\u2019t have to spend a dime on it. \u00a0To recoup the cost, CWS charges people for the clean water they use.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cBut now what they\u2019re paying for is nitrate-free water,\u201d Butel says. \u201cThey\u2019re not paying for a couple of vessels, and a bunch of pumps, and a salt tank, and whatever else is needed for that process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The company owns the plant. When it breaks down, it\u2019s up to the company to fix it. Butel says CWS will only sell clean water, so there\u2019s plenty of incentive to keep the system running properly.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThey could raise their water rates and get a big loan and put a system in, or we could put in a system for them and make sure they\u2019re getting clean water,\u201d Butel says.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">A tough sale<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">None of this runs afoul of any state laws as far as the Water Board\u2019s J.D. Strong knows. He says he welcomes creative solutions to Oklahoma\u2019s multi-billion dollar water infrastructure problem.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe\u2019re somewhat used to that on our electric utilities, so it\u2019s not a vastly different model for water utility,\u201d Strong says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">But there are issues with turning water treatment over to a private company. It\u2019s a big change from how treatment has always been done in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cCan you trust them to operate it right? Can you trust them to be here 20 years from now, 30 years from now?\u201d Strong asked.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Richard Raupe is mayor of Okarche, a small town just northwest of Oklahoma City with a nitrate problem CWS approached with its idea. Raupe thinks it has merit, but there\u2019s a big sticking point:<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWell, we believe the town of Okarche should own their own water system and their own processing plant,\u201d Raupe says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">So far, no towns have taken up CWS on its offers. That first customer is always the hardest to get.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In early 2014, a for-profit company sprung out of Water4: Community Water Solutions. Since then, CWS project manager Tyler Butel has been pitching small town leaders on a way out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":25329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[545,427],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25322"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25346,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25322\/revisions\/25346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}