A OneWater Story: Water Affects Us and Connects Us All

What do Wapakoneta, Ohio; Dubai, UAE; Neil Armstrong and Jacobs have in common?

OneWater. It may sound like a stretch, but water affects us and connects us all, especially in Wapakoneta, the birthplace of Neil Armstrong and the location one of Jacobs long-term clients. And with March 22nd, being the day the world comes together to celebrate water – Jacobs will highlight its OneWater approach at Expo 2020 Dubai this week.

There you go, a full OneWater circle.

Jacobs’ relationship with the City of Wapakoneta, Ohio, began in 1939 and our team continues to serve as an advocate for the city including working on current infrastructure projects that represents the largest the city has ever implemented. Recent changes in Wapakoneta, including substantial industrial growth, provided a need for a holistic approach to addressing the its water uses. Enter OneWater – our comprehensive, integrated and collaborative approach to understanding complex water challenges and just what the city needed to address challenges related to creating economic growth while managing its water resources sustainably, equitably and safely.

Established first in 1748 as a critical trading post for the French, the City of Wapakoneta was formally established in 1833. The history of Wapakoneta, along with the history of American space travel, was forever changed when Neil Armstrong was born there in 1930.

Wapakoneta’s storied history also includes a continued focus on protecting its water resources and being a steward of the environment. The city was working toward reducing combined sewer overflows (CSOs) when sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) were identified. Pratt Industries (Pratt) approached the city the same year with the largest economic investment in the city’s history. Pratt’s new facility requires makeup water from the city’s water treatment plant (WTP) and a discharge to the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) requiring the expansion of both plants.

Sustainable, equitable innovation-driven delivery

Wapakoneta submitted an initial Long-Term Control Plan (LTCP) to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to reduce CSOs in 2009. Fast forward a decade and the city was faced with eliminating SSOs, completing CSO improvements and making significant infrastructure investments to serve its new industrial partner. City leadership engaged the full range of affected stakeholders: residents, industrial users, regulatory agencies and others. Wapakoneta prioritized solutions that promoted economic development, provided meaningful co-benefits and minimized impacts to precious water resources. They had a clear vision: Equitable access to its water resources. This encompasses use as drinking water, protecting water quality in the Auglaize River and its aquatic habitats and recreational uses and providing water services for commercial and industrial users to realize social and economic benefits

Wapakoneta focused its efforts by defining four key challenges:

1. Too much water: CSOs and SSOs.
2. Not enough capacity: WTP and WWTP upgrades.
3. Protecting water quality of the Auglaize River.
4. Maximizing economic and social benefits.

This OneWater approach allowed the city to focus on an integrated plan to address these challenges through several key components:

1. Regularly monitoring water quality within the watershed.
2. Assessing water resources availability: groundwater and surface water.
3. Efficiently implementing new infrastructure, including
   1. Selecting technology that minimizes project costs and protects water quality.
   2. Conducting WWTP upgrades to address capacity limitations, reduce CSOs and eliminate SSOs.
   3. Designing with the future in mind providing continued economic growth and the ability to meet future regulatory requirements.