The falling Missouri River is nearing the level at which Saint Joseph can switch off high-powered pumps that have run for weeks. City Manager Bruce Woody says when it rose past 26 feet the city had to close the gates that drain treated wastewater into the river, and pump it over the levee. In addition to fuel costs, Woody says there’s a staff cost. Two maintenance personnel keep a 24-hour watch on the big pumps.
The pumps are huge – each the size of an automobile – and it takes 12 of them running constantly to hurl wastewater over the levee. They burn 1300 gallons of diesel fuel a day. Woody says at about the 4th or 5th week of pumping the Corps of Engineers agreed to pay for the fuel. The city owns one of the large pumps and is leasing the rest.