Cassville Council considers $4.8M in waterline repairs
August 13, 2014
Charlea Mills
During Monday night’s Cassville City Council meeting, the aldermen heard from Ronnie Marshall, a representative from Schultz Surveying and Engineering in Branson, made a presentation about repairing and improving the City’s waterlines.
The project, estimated to cost around $4,894,045, would be primarily funded with grants, but the percentage would be determined later on down the line. Mayor Bill Shiveley said, “Whether our part of that financially was a bond or something like that, it would still have to be approved by the voters.” The investigation into the City’s waterlines came from the instruction of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources because the City had around 30 percent water loss. Much of the water being pumped was being lost because of aging pipes and other issues.
Marshall said, “To do nothing, status quo, is not acceptable. Something will have to be done because of the situation with the old pipes.” Currently, much of the City’s pipes are copper with lead joints. Overtime, the pipes are deteriorated, causing issues.
So far, all the City is out financially is $2,000 to cover the costs of the study done by Schultz. The council members motioned to move forward on the grant paperwork to see what percentage of the project could be funded. According to Marshall, a little less than half of the City’s 43 miles of pipes would need to be replaced with 30,000 feet of 8 inch pipe and 55,000 feet of 6 inch pipe. Some of the City’s pipe has already been replaced with PVC, but the totals for that were not available.
Once completed, Marshall estimated that the City would save $17,000 annually just on energy due to electricity usage. Some of the pipe to be laced would be in new areas to bypass old systems of pipeline, as well.
The biggest issue with the pipes as it stands, according to Marshall, is primarily age. Some of the pipes in place are 80-90 years old, which is past the reasonable expected life of the material.
The amount of grants the City could receive will be based on numerous factors, including median income and the amount the City charges for water. Currently, 5,000 gallons of water (not including sewer) costs $29.46. According to DNR, that rate should be $45.60, a sizable jump should the City need to raise rates. The City is not currently discussing raising rates, but the lower bills could impact their grant eligibility. Currently, 85 percent of Cassville customers use 5,000 gallons a month. DNR bases their suggested water utility rate on census data’s median income.
Schultz began the study for Cassville in February of this year, and it will be awhile before any decisions are made. According to Public Works Director Steve Walensky, the City has two years to make any forward progress on the project to satisfy DNR. However, no major decisions will be made until the City becomes aware of how much of the $4.8 million estimate grants would cover and how much the City would need to provide.
Charlea Mills
During Monday night’s Cassville City Council meeting, the aldermen heard from Ronnie Marshall, a representative from Schultz Surveying and Engineering in Branson, made a presentation about repairing and improving the City’s waterlines.
The project, estimated to cost around $4,894,045, would be primarily funded with grants, but the percentage would be determined later on down the line. Mayor Bill Shiveley said, “Whether our part of that financially was a bond or something like that, it would still have to be approved by the voters.” The investigation into the City’s waterlines came from the instruction of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources because the City had around 30 percent water loss. Much of the water being pumped was being lost because of aging pipes and other issues.
Marshall said, “To do nothing, status quo, is not acceptable. Something will have to be done because of the situation with the old pipes.” Currently, much of the City’s pipes are copper with lead joints. Overtime, the pipes are deteriorated, causing issues.
So far, all the City is out financially is $2,000 to cover the costs of the study done by Schultz. The council members motioned to move forward on the grant paperwork to see what percentage of the project could be funded. According to Marshall, a little less than half of the City’s 43 miles of pipes would need to be replaced with 30,000 feet of 8 inch pipe and 55,000 feet of 6 inch pipe. Some of the City’s pipe has already been replaced with PVC, but the totals for that were not available.
Once completed, Marshall estimated that the City would save $17,000 annually just on energy due to electricity usage. Some of the pipe to be laced would be in new areas to bypass old systems of pipeline, as well.
The biggest issue with the pipes as it stands, according to Marshall, is primarily age. Some of the pipes in place are 80-90 years old, which is past the reasonable expected life of the material.
The amount of grants the City could receive will be based on numerous factors, including median income and the amount the City charges for water. Currently, 5,000 gallons of water (not including sewer) costs $29.46. According to DNR, that rate should be $45.60, a sizable jump should the City need to raise rates. The City is not currently discussing raising rates, but the lower bills could impact their grant eligibility. Currently, 85 percent of Cassville customers use 5,000 gallons a month. DNR bases their suggested water utility rate on census data’s median income.
Schultz began the study for Cassville in February of this year, and it will be awhile before any decisions are made. According to Public Works Director Steve Walensky, the City has two years to make any forward progress on the project to satisfy DNR. However, no major decisions will be made until the City becomes aware of how much of the $4.8 million estimate grants would cover and how much the City would need to provide.
