Now a month into the water study initiated by the City of Wessington Springs City Council, Camden Hofer, Project Engineer for SPN & Associates Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors shares the scope of work he is 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.” In addition to site visits, Hofer said he has consulted with the city’s water plant operator, Robert Wenzel.
“I pulled out old manuals from the 1980s and reviewed them with Rob so he is refreshed in that area,” he said.
Hofer made some suggestions to Wenzel regarding plant best practices and also suggestions to help narrow down the root cause of the on and off again rust or browncolored water flowing out of resident’s taps.
“We have a bunch of leads and the operator is working on where the brown water is coming from. What he finds out will help us know how to take action,” he said. “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.”
Wenzel has been taking water samples from a variety of sources along the water delivery system and sending the samples to the state health lab in Pierre and also Blue Earth lab in Kansas. He also sent sand from the water plant filtration system and is currently awaiting results.
To help with the process, Wessington Springs residents are urged to report rust or browncolored water as soon as they see it by calling city hall at 605-539-1691.
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 study will be completed before January in order for the council to make a decision on which direction to go. Hofer said once the study is reviewed and the council decides on type, scope and viability of project, the next milestone is submitting funding applications to South Dakota Department of Agricultural and Natural Resources (DANR).
Hofer said the city must pursue grant funding for the project because of the projected price tag.
“An all new building and equipment —that takes a long time to construct. I have speculated costs in my head but I’m not going to share them until the study is complete,” Hofer said. “This project is unique for a couple reasons: it’s going to be relatively expensive for a small town. We will have to have grant money available or the city won’t be able to afford it.”
Once the study is complete later this fall, SPN will present its findings to the council at a public meeting. Once the date is set, meeting details will be published in the True Dakotan.
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.”