City water settling basins, showing a triple water fall, Omaha, Nebr.
Description
Color postcard (13.5 x 9 cm) with a view of water flowing from one basin over a triple waterfall into another basin at the Florence Waterworks, Florence neighborhood, Omaha, Nebraska. In the distance across the water are seen a small white building to the left and a small red building to the right. The bottom of the card has a white border. The number 481 is in red in the lower left side and the caption in red type at the bottom of the image reads City Water Settling Basins, Showing a Triple Water Fall, Omaha, Nebr.
The settling basins near the Minne Lusa Pumping Station occupied a narrow strip of land along the eastern extent of Florence owned by the Metropolitan Utilities District. Through the series of settling basins, the muddy water of the Missouri River is filtered and made pure for human consumption. The foreign matter is allowed to settle to the bottom of the first basin and the clear water on top flows in the second basin. The process of sedimentation is repeated in the next basins with the water finally flowing through the filter plant where the remaining matter is removed then pumped through the pumping station to the city mains. Debris was removed daily from the settling basins. Source: Federal Writers Project, Nebraska. Omaha: A Guide to the City and Environs. Omaha: Omaha Public Library, 1981, p. 149.
