More Information on Council Water Project
After the August 12th City Council meeting where a public hearing was held on the proposed water and sewer rate increases, I had a chance to sit down with Andrew Kimmel from Great West Engineering, who contracts with the city of Council for engineering services, to talk about the scope of the project. Several of the questions during the public hearing were related to what exactly was the city doing that necessitated the increase in rates and what new services citizens would be receiving.
Kimmel explained the proposed project would include 14,000 feet of new pipe and a new water storage tank, as well as a new booster station. The booster station will help to stabilize water pressure throughout the town. Currently, Kimmel said there is not enough pressure to meet state regulations, so this will bring the system up to compliance.
The new system will also be equipment ready for chlorination, should that become necessary, and will include the room, piping, electrical, and ventilation so that could be done with minimal effort in case of an emergency. Currently, when there is a need for chlorination, such as in a line break, Public Works Supervisor, Caleb Shumway, has to climb up to the top of the water tank. No chemicals are regularly added to the water in Council currently. The city instead opts to have the water tested in Boise multiple times per week. Kimmel also stated that once a city begins regular chlorination, they cannot go back to not chlorinating due to regulations. The new system would make such a transition much easier to facilitate.
Kimmel explained that a big reason for the project is a lead and copper rule revision that required cities to report every service line that could have lead or copper in it. The new lines will be constructed with HDPE, High Density Polyethylene, which will replace the old galvanized service lines. Kimmel claimed HDPE was very safe and the main lines are currently all galvanized and at the end of their life span. Kimmel said many of them were constructed with “invasion steel” - metal that was repurposed after World War 2. The city had the choice of replacing them with HDPE or copper, but copper is more expensive.
The project is being funded about 40% by grants and the rest with loans. The loans have very low interest rates, 2.5% for one and 1% for the other. Kimmel said the loan requires a 1 year cash reserve, which is why the city originally opted for a larger price hike all at once. Ashley Scott, City Clerk, clarified, saying that the first loan payment doesn’t happen until 2027 and the city is currently trying to save up for that first payment. By increasing the rate more now, they will be able to pay less overall, Kimmel explained. They could have tried to start with a smaller project but then they wouldn’t have received any grants. They are still only planning on doing about 70% of the projects needed. Kimmel stressed the importance of also planning for the future and starting to put money aside to fund future projects. “This is a shot in the arm to get your system up and going,” said Kimmel. Scott said that the annual interest and principal payment for the two loans will be $140,605. One of the loans is a 20 year loan and one is a 30 year loan. Scott said she took the loan amount and divided it by all the water users to come up with a minimum they would need to increase the water rates.
