Over the last 3 decades, twenty eight small water systems in the 10 County region have had to close. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has been advocating for regionalization and in fact helped the formation of the North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission as a solution for the area’s dire water needs.

Letter from Director Sara Parker Pauley of DNR

Regionalization only provides a means of distribution of water, and not more water to a region.  The lake is the only option for a new, viable source of water for the region.

In the last few decades, the trend has been that smaller systems have closed their sources and treatment facilities due to increasing water quality standards and cost of treatment as well as dwindling water availability. Customers of these small systems must then purchase water from larger systems, and as a result, those systems are nearing capacity. The passage of time, threat of a prolonged drought, and climate change will continue to diminish the capacity of the once dependable sources below what is needed.

List of 28 Closed Systems