The water is about to be safe to drink in Okarche.
The new Okarche Nitrate Reduction Facility is soon to open.
The new plant will remove high levels of nitrates from the Okarche water, making it fit to drink for the first time in 20 years.
The new facility is nearing completion 13 miles southwest of Okarche. It is located on the west side of Maple Road about an eighth of a mile north of NW 220, where it will serve the water supply for the entire Okarche Rural Water District.
“By the end of April they should be ready to rock and roll. They are moving along,” said Grant Kuehn, Okarche public works director who gave an update on the project to the town trustees in a regular meeting Monday, March 31 at town hall.
The facility is expected to be completed in April and operating by May.
For two decades the water in the area has been dangerously high in nitrates and it has been a risk to babies and others, health officials warn. Okarche has been under a consent order to fix the problem from the State Department of Environmental Quality.
The blacktop Calumet Road runs north and south near the nitrate reduction plant. Wind turbines work alongside the oil wells on the treeless horizon. The western Canadian County roads are unpaved with shale instead of asphalt mostly.
The $3.2 million nitrate reduction plant has been partly funded with a $2 million EPA grant. Okarche water rates increased in January 2024. The total cost came to $3,248,204.22.
Work started on April 1, 2024. All is on schedule.
The Okarche Public Works Authority approved project included constructing one metal building with foundation, a parking area and driveway, two water softening units, two exchange units for nitrate removal, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning for the building as well as installation of drainage and equipment. Two evaporation ponds were constructed along with an all-weather gravel road. A generator and an electrical system were installed with a supervisory control and data acquisition operation system, according to plans for the project that can be viewed online. An 8-inch pipe, 1,331 linear feet, will be used for the plant and trenches dug for the line.
The completed project will provide “a new water treatment facility, which is expected to lead to nitrate removal from the existing groundwater wells for the 1,100 customers in the town of Okarche and surrounding area, according to an overview of the project agreement.
Nitrates have been cited as a health concern for those who drink the town of Okarche water as it can be harmful to infants and older people. Causes for high nitrates have been attributed to industrial, agricultural, and environmental factors.
