Council mulls options as water main breaks plague Colfax

COLFAX – This winter, the City of Colfax has been in a constant battle with its water service system – dealing with eight water main breaks and three service line repairs.

With the city racking up costs for repairs, Colfax City Council discussed potential solutions at Monday night’s meeting. According to Mayor David Mast, the city has dealt with more breaks than it has in the last 10 years combined.

“It needs to be done,” City Councilwoman Karla Jones said. “It has got to be done.”

One of the major points of concern for city leaders has been the existing water main along Walnut Street from Howard to Weaver street. According to city documents, this four-inch cast iron main was installed in the 1890s. As the main aged, the line experienced several breaks in the colder months, impacting the water service at businesses and residents in the downtown area.

“Down by the elementary school, we had a major leak due to the weather and not long after that, just a block down the street, another one,” Mast said. “Both of these were on a water main that is about 130 years old. Both of these were not a little crack. It was a significant section that was just going out of the side. It just says the next one could happen anytime.”

City Engineer Steve Klocke recommended the city replace this line with a new eight-inch water main. This project has an estimated cost of $450,000.

According to the city, this is not the only main that needs to be replaced to prevent future breaks.

The city leaders discussed $270,000 to replace the water main on North League Road and $400,000 to replace the 10-inch ductile iron water main from the water tower. The council also discussed three potential options in projects affecting the water mains along Cherry, Ryan and South Lincoln streets. The projects range in estimated costs from $400,000 to $100,000.

“You put all of those together, you are at about $1.5 million,” Mast said. “None of these projects shouldn’t be done. We have plenty more projects that could be added to it, but this is a good way to start.”

According to city documents, the State Revolving Fund would be the main source of funding for these projects. This provides the city a 1.75 percent interest loan for 20 to 30 years. The city has utilized this funding in the past, but Mast said it could be time for the city to consider a water rate increase.

“Without the water main breaks it was needed,” the mayor said. “On our SRF loan, we have to keep a certain balance between the money coming in and the money coming out. For a local home, that is a requirement. It has to increase some just to take care of that.”

According to city documents, the city will not make the state government’s SRF requirement – a 110 percent revenue income versus expenses – in FY 2017-18. The city said they narrowly made the requirement the previous fiscal year.

With the addition of the recent water main repairs and future projects, the city was recommended to increase its water rate by 19 percent. The council will vote on the increase after the public hearing, set for April 9.

“The water rates need to be increased yearly by a little bit to avoid the big one. They haven’t been increased by a little bit consistently,” Mast said. “(The water main breaks) make it bigger.”

The city can also receive some funding for the water projects through Community Development Block Grants. According to city documents, Colfax is can receive up to $500,000 in state funding for water and sewer improvements, but it must be awarded by Iowa Economic Development Authority. To be eligible, the city also must have at least 51 percent of its population earn less than $54,720 – 80 percent of the median income in Jasper County.

“As the plans come together, we will be voting on it when we are presented with the plan,” the mayor said. “All we said is we are going to continue to investigate.”

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@jaspercountytribune.com.