Real Time Lake Level Data

The gauge at the right displays the most recent Shawnee Lake No.1 level based on real time USGS data. You can view more data and information on the Shawnee Lake No 1 levels as well as view recent historical level information by visiting the USGS Shawnee lake site. Note this is an external site not managed by the City of Shawnee.

Another useful online site is the US Drought Monitor that tracks current drought conditions across the United States and can be used to visualize the current issues.

It is our goal to provide sufficient and safe water at the lowest possible cost to the citizens of Shawnee. 

The City of Shawnee utilizes the Shawnee Twin Lakes as its raw water source. They have an  estimated combined storage of 34,000 acre feet with a surface area of 2,436 acres and dependable yield of 4.3 MGD. The North Deer Creek reservoir project is complete and will increase the raw water available to the community. The Pottawatomie County Development Authority is the owner and developer of this project in partnership with the City of Shawnee. The dependable yield of the North Deer Creek project is 4.5 MGD. Water from the three lakes will be used on a rotating basis to protect the water rights and provide for the needs of the City, PCDA and other users.

The Line Maintenance Division, with a staff of 23, maintains more than 150 miles of water main, more than 10,000 water meters from ¾" to 6", 15 miles of raw water lines, 135 miles of sewer mains, and ten lift stations. Maintenance includes repair and replacement of water mains, sewer mains, and service lines, operation and repair of valves, repair and replacement of fire hydrants, repair and rehabilitation of manholes, and video inspection of sewer mains. One crew spends eight hours every day jet cleaning sewer mains to keep them flowing properly.

The City of Shawnee has four water storage towers with a total capacity of 2.5 million gallons. The addition of an additional one million gallon storage tower has been recommended by staff to accommodate peak hourly flows. It may be funded from existing reserves in the next fiscal year.

The Water Treatment Plant produces an average 4.4 million gallons of potable water each day. The water treatment facility located on south Kickapoo near the North Canadian River consists of two separate treatment plants. Plant No. 1 is rated at 4.1 MGD. Phase I of the WTP Improvements was completed in January 2002 and increased the capacity of that plant to 9.0 MGD for a total of 13.1 MGD. Eleven dedicated employees provide around-the-clock operation of water treatment facility that provides potable water for the residents of Shawnee, Meeker and the customers of the Pottawatomie County Development Authority.

Plans for Phase II of the WTP Improvements are being completed. Phase II will provide a new pre-treatment process to minimize the development of disinfection by products (THMs and HAAs). Funding is available and construction should be started in the fall of 2002.

The Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant increased to 3.0 million gallons per day by a $3,500,000 project completed in June, 1997. The plant currently treats an average of 1.59 MGD of wastewater each day, much of which comes from the industrial area located in the northern area of Shawnee. As a part of the Northside Plant expansion a new interceptor line was installed from Wolverine Road and Harrison to the plant. That project eliminated a lift station and provided increased capacity to the industrial areas north of the plant. Improvements at the plant included two new clarifiers, increased sludge digestor capacity, a new chlorine basin and chemical building.

The Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant currently treats an average of 2.27 million gallons of wastewater each day. It has a capacity of 3.0 MGD. The Southside Treatment Plant serves the area south of the ridge line that divides the city. This includes the central business district and the major residential areas of the City. Both plants have excess capacity. The population equivalent of the treatment plants is 46,000.

The Industrial Pretreatment Program was approved by EPA in 1983 and revised in 1993. Objectives of the program include the following:

1. Prevent the introduction of pollutants into the POTW which will pass through or interfere with the treatment operations and/or the use or disposal of the municipal sludge;

2. Improve the feasibility of recycling and reclaiming municipal and industrial wastewater and sludge;

3. Enforce applicable Federal Categorical Standards and requirements; and

4. Generally, to reduce the health and environmental risk of pollutants discharged to the wastewater collection and treatment system.