Color postcard (13.5 x 9 cm) with a view of a water reservoir entitled Omaha Water Co. Reservoir, Omaha, Neb. in Florence, Nebraska. The view looks down a tree lined sidewalk toward the reservoir which is divided into three or four settling basins for filtering debris. There is a fence and a road running around the reservoir. On the far left is the Missouri River.
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.
