by Mari Radtke
The February regular meeting of the Marcus City Council hosted Michael Washburn, Senior Project Manager and Team Leader and Ian Davis, Staff Engineer on the Water Team from McClure Engineering . The duo discussed with Council the current status of the Marcus Water Treatment plant, labeled, “Marcus Drinking Water System.” The opened by presenting 2 options available to Council, in their view. Option 1: “Run until it breaks down, face an emergency situation.” Option 2: “Proactively Plan for Improvements and Replacement.”
Marcus’ drinking water system has 2 wells. Well no. 1 was dug in 1914 (110 years old), currently used as backup water source and is 1300 feet deep. Well no. 2 was built in 1948 (76 years old), is the main water supply and is 880 feet deep. Both wells draw from the Jordan Aquifer. The water is treated through an atomerator to oxidize the iron and then filtered with an iron and manganese pressure filter system installed in 1956. After filtering the water it is disinfected with ammonia creating chloramines before it is stored in the water tower. The disinfection is a standard an d longer-lasting disinfection process.
The McClure Engineering representatives explained the current water quality. The tested concentrations of iron, manganese, radium and hardness. “Other testing” included PFAS and a complete full water analysis. The water coming into the treatment system, according to the results shared by McClure, are above an acceptable level of .3 mg/L. After treatment the water tests at and acceptable 0.07 mg/L for primary testing. T he DNR standard is typically 0.3 mg/L for a secondary (aesthetic) result. The raw water test resulted in a 0.17 mg/L of manganese. Following treatment the result dropped to 0.07 mg/L with an aesthetic finding of 0.05 mg/L. The report prepared for Council states, “Primary limits expected in the future.”
Radium levels were reported as, “Currently below primary limits, but enough to evaluate treatment.” The water is described as “very hard.”
Further description of the condition of the wells indicated significant buildup on casing from most recent video. There is a new motor, VFD and electrical disconnect. Life expectancy of a well is 60 years. DNR guidance is 30 years.
The water treatment plant condition was also evaluated. Washburn and Davis indicate the treatment equipment is well-maintained. The equipment is most likely original and probably does not meet current electrical codes. There are difficulties finding and fixing leaks. More concerning is the difficulty in finding replacement parts due to age.
Washburn and Davis made several recommendations. They suggest replacing Well no. 1, abandon and cap the existing Well no. 1 and do further evaluation of well no. 2.
Treatment improvement options given to Council by Washburn and Davis aware to rehabilitate the current facility, construct a new facility with the same treatment technology or construct a new facility with membrane and softening.
They outlined the process to reaching a decision for the project. They recommend evaluating the technical feasibility, capital costs, perational costs, the impact any decision will have on water rates and to develop a Capital Improvement Plan.
A menu of funding options were provided. Those options include a Planning and Design loan from the State Revolving Fund (SRF) which is 0% for up to 3 years and can often be rolled over into a construction loan. From SRF opportunities, not guarantees for loan forgiveness and low interest loans exist. There is a challenging application process for those programs. USDA – Rural Development may have available loan or grant funds and CDBG grants might be an option to the City of Marcus. The final outside funding source noted was the Water and Wastewater Treatment Financial Assistance Program (WTFAP), a program administered through Iowa Finance Authority (IFA).
The ball park costs provided for a new well bears a cost range of $1.5 million. The water treatment plants generally cost between $6 and $9 million. The range is broad because of the range of technology available. Council was told that similar projects in Remsen and Hinton impacted monthly rates with $60 – $80 increases. The timeline for this project would be approximately 4 years.
Mayor Pat Bunt received Council approval for the appointment of Robin Jenness and Conrad Ebert to a selection review committee for Procurement Services for CDBG funded projects.