The City has a plan to build a loop in the water main that serves the eastern edge of the community; on March 28, the City Commission gave approval to bid that project.
According to City Utilities Director Brad Palmer, most of the city’s water main can be back fed. However, that’s not the case with the line that serves the state Women’s Prison, National Guard Armory, and other customers on the far eastern side of the city.
“The goal is to improve water service reliability by removing the dead-end line,” said Palmer. “Currently, if we need to do repair work, we have to take the prison and armory out of service until the work is complete. With a loop in place, it will help keep those services operational during repair work.”
The project includes installing a pipe under Highway 34 and the RCPE railroad tracks to connect water mains that already exist on both the north and south side of the highway.
Proposals are due back to the City on or before April 20.