City Makes Water, Sewer Plans
By ERIC X. VICCARO
eviccaro@stegenherald.com
Steve Wilson, local manager for Alliance Water Resources, met with the Ste. Genevieve Board of Aldermen during a special work session on Sept. 10.
Wilson discussed a future consolidated water main plan, providing a list of priorities related the city’s underground infrastructure.
Along with Dave Van Leer and Ryan Gates, two officials representing Cochran Engineering, a firm based in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton, Wilson went through a list of projects through the year 2032.
“We wanted to look ahead to see what we need to get done,” said Ste. Genevieve city administrator Happy Welch.
Welch explained the plan features flexibility, allowing the city to move around certain prioritized projects based on the available funding.
“We put this together with the goal of helping the city with annual budgeting,” Van Leer said .
Wilson said he would like to budget around $300,000 per year for water line improvements.
Cochran’s plans included a colored guide map with water mains from two to 12 inches in diameter. Dashed lines represented water main replacements in both 2014 and 2020. The map also featured spots where valves and hydrants are located.
Engineers explained the water system’s hydraulics need improved, mains are aging and they tried to coordinate projects with future city street repairs.
“We will evaluate each project on a need basis,” Van Leer added.
Leading the batting order, so to speak, will be replacing 3,273 linear feet of existing four-inch water main along Fourth Street from Biltmore to Washington with a new six-inch main.
The city expects to perform street paving in the same general area during the next fiscal year, Welch explained.
The price tag for this project currently stands at an estimated $327,300.
On the wish list for 2022 will be the purchase of two back-up generators for two 40 HP wells. The city currently has no back-up generators for those wells, officials reported.
Other projects on the docket two years from now are replacing 760 linear feet of four-inch water main along Rozier Street from Cedar Lane to Park Drive with new six-inch water main and 1,396 linear feet of water main along Roberts Street from La Haye to LaPorte Street — in congruency with future road improvements.
Other streets set to receive attention include Claymont, Seventh and Ninth Streets and Oakwood Drive (2023), Main Street (2024) and Maple Drive and Ridgeway Avenue (2025). Also planned is an active water mixing system during the next decade.
Possible future water projects may include Progress Parkway, with the hopes of both housing and business expansion and development in that part of Ste. Genevieve.
Ward 2 Alderman Bob Donovan asked about the price tag of various projects, and engineers explained the figures were “based on today’s prices.”
As stated in the prioritized list of water system improvements, the cost of land acquisition and solid rock excavation are not included.
Also, the scope of the work and other associated costs may even decrease based on field investigation findings, explained the engineers.
Providing better water pressure throughout the system is another goal for future water line improvements — which, in turn, helps the city’s fire protection needs.
TALKING POINTS
• Welch said Ste. Genevieve city attorney Mark Bishop is currently reviewing a new technology policy that may soon be in place.
A section of the policy regarding social media was pulled because it’s already part of the city’s personnel manual. Expect this to be an action item during an October meeting, Welch said.
