Findings from the comprehensive study on the City of Wessington Springs municipal water system will be presented by SPN & Associates on December 4, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. City officials said that the meeting was moved up from its normal 7 p.m. schedule due to the Wessington Springs Middle School / High School Holiday Concert slated to be held that same evening. The meeting is open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend.
In October, Camden Hofer, Project Engineer for SPN & Associates Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors shared with city council the scope of work he was charged with after the firm was hired by the city to conduct the study.
“We are evaluating the existing plant by all of the different government water quality standards that need to be met along with the needs that will arise in the future,” Hofer said. “I’ve been to the plant several times to gather information and better know the system so we can describe what the deficiencies are. What we’re seeing is a plant that started in 1986 with very few updates made to it. The city can be commended for keeping an old plant like this in operation. It has a typical design life of maybe 20 years so the plant is beyond its useful life expectancy. We need new equipment or a new plant.”
Hofer said that in addition to the plant, the entire water distribution system in Wessington Springs is in need of improvements.
“The springs and wells all need improvements and the pipe that goes from those springs and wells are all old cast iron,” Hofer explained. “Improvements are needed on the tan and blue ground storage tanks too.
In addition to a plant renovation, the study also will look at the viability of hooking into Mid-Dakota Rural Water.
“We come up with not only capital cost but also operating cost. There are a lot of different complexities that go into this decision,” Hofer pointed out.
The council will be presented with study findings including scope and viability of the different potential projects needed to make necessary improvements.
Hofer said that although the exact dollar amounts for the different options won’t be known until it goes to bid, it is going to be a sizable investment in the city’s infrastructure.
To put the project’s scope into perspective, Hofer explained, “This is a once in a lifetime type project.”