“Red Rock Rural Water will provide us with good, quality water.”
By Crystal Reith The water project that will bring safe water to Avoca residents has received funding and meters will soon be installed.
“We started working on this project about seven years ago,” said Barb Kirchner, mayor of Avoca. “It takes quite a while to get money in place.”
According to Kirchner, the project is estimated to cost $815,295. Funding has been received through a forgiveness grant through the Drinking Water Revolving Fund Emerging Contaminants Grant and Water Infrastructure Fund Affordability Grant. The remainder of the dollars come from a loan that the city will pay back at a low interest rate over the next 30 years.
“Right now, we have separated it into two projects, one with Red Rock Rural Water and one with B&H Excavating in Slayton,” said Kirchner. “The contract with Red Rock Rural Water is for the water hook up and they will build a new building to house their equipment. The one with B&H is to bring in meters to properly read the amount of water that each household is using.”
Installing meters will begin in mid-September. Two different types of meters will be utilized throughout the 71 households. Homes without a basement will have a pit meter installed and the others with basements will have a meter in their basement.
Concern over an increasedd monthly cost of water depending on how much water the household uses caused the city council and Kirchner to look at alternative solutions like a new water tower or a water treatment plant. However, the group determined that the rural water route to be the best, most affordable solution to the water contamination problem.
“For the most part, everyone seems very supportive,” said Kirchner. “We had a public hearing where we invited residents of Avoca and we have discussed the cost quite a bit. Red Rock Rural Water will provide us with good, quality water.”
Avoca Mayor Barb Kirchner
Right now, the town’s water comes from a well that has a high manganese problem and residents shouldn’t drink it.
“In a comparison test, it should be like 100 parts per billion,” said Kirchner. “It’s really high. A single test showed it at 1,695 parts per billion.”
While the rural water connection is a requirement for all current and future residents, the city will keep their current holding tank. The tank will be completely cut off from the rural water, but it will be available in the event of a fire emergency.
Kirchner expresses her gratitude towards the city council for their due diligence with this project and the engineer for their time and support. She acknowledges that a project of this magnitude takes time to get everything in place and looks forward to safer, high quality water for residents.
“You have to be patient and follow all the steps,” said Kirchner. “We’ve been monitoring this for quite some time.”
