Upgrades to water system for Elk Mound schools and new development estimated at $2.1 million
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
ELK MOUND — Upgrades to the water system in Elk Mound to provide adequate fire fighting capacity and to maintain water quality for the school buildings and the new Settlers Ridge development would cost an estimated $2.1 million.
Bernard Lenz of CBS Squared presented the results of a water system study to the Elk Mound Village Board at the September 6 meeting.
Sheryl Claflin and Jon Strand of CBS Squared presented information at a village board meeting in February regarding studies that would help the village apply for the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program, the Clean Water Fund, United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development funds, and in addition, a water report, a wastewater facility plan and a USDA environmental report.
The recommendation resulting from the water system study is that a new reservoir be installed east of the school district buildings, a loop be installed for the school district buildings and that an “east loop” be installed for Settlers Ridge, Lenz said.
The reservoir above the school (Phase 1), would cost an estimated $1 million. The school loop would cost an estimated $415,000. And the east loop would cost an estimated $685,000, he said.
Based on this year’s bids, the total cost for the project would be $2.1 million. By the time the village is able to take on the project, the cost will likely be more than $2.1 million, Lenz said.
Scope
The water system study considered the village’s capacity for pumping water and storing water, distribution of the water, redundancy in the system, reliability of the system and the age of the water/water quality, Lenz said.
Over the next several years, the Settlers Ridge development is expected to add 1,440 new residents to the village of Elk Mound. No new industrial businesses are expected to locate in the village, although there may be some commercial development, he said.
In 2000, Elk Mound’s population was 784. In 2010, the village’s population was 878. In 2020, Elk Mound’s population was 897. When the 1,440 new residents are added to the village, by 2037, Elk Mound is predicted to have a population of 2,337, Lenz said.
Most of the water mains in Elk Mound are six-inches in diameter, while a few of the mains are eight inches in diameter, he said.
When more water is being moved a longer distance, then larger water mains are better, Lenz said.
Elk Mound’s water system has quite a few dead-ends. If one section of water main is out for some reason, then large sections of the village are out of water, he noted.
Fire-fighting capacity
The ISO rating for the village’s fire-fighting capacity is affected by the supply of water available through the water system to fight fires, Lenz said.
The farther away a building is from the reservoir, the less flow there is. Many sections of the village do not have acceptable “fire flow” in the water system to fight fires, he said.
The village also will need future well capacity upgrades, Lenz said.
The village’s water storage for fire flow is deficient. On high-demand days for water, and to fight a big a fire for three hours, the village would have to add to the current storage capacity to offset the new demand, Lenz said.
The village needs the capacity to pump 3,500 gallons per minute to fight a fire for three hours and does not have enough capacity now, he said.
On the other hand, if the water is being pumped to fight a fire, that eliminates the “old” water in the system and improves water quality, Lenz said.
If water is over seven days old in the reservoir, then the possibility exists of bacteria growing in the water and the chlorine breaking down into other chemicals, he said.
Water lines
Elk Mound could add another water line to serve both sides of the village, Lenz said.
Adding another water line would increase the resiliency of the water system. If one line is lost for some reason, the other could still supply water, he said.
Adding another water line would have an impact on the paving on University Street, he noted.
The cost of adding a water line would be around $180,000, Lenz said.
Upsize
Elk Mound could increase the size of the water mains to get more water pressure to the schools, Lenz said.
Twelve-inch water mains, along with six-inch and eight-inch mains on the sides, would be needed. A school loop also would be needed to allow water to flow in both directions, he said.
The upsized water mains and the school loop does not help the rest of the village. The cost would be $1.44 million, Lenz said.
East loop
The size of the water mains could be increased and a loop could be installed for the new Settlers Ridge development, Lenz said.
By increasing the size of the water lines and putting in the east loop, there would be an improvement in both directions, he said.
The cost for the east loop would be $685,000, and the cost of larger new water main along University would bring the cost up to $2.2 million, Lenz said.
Installing a reservoir above the school would not help the rest of the village until the east loop is installed, he said.
The reservoir above the school and the east loop would solve most of the flow problems at Settlers Ridge and elsewhere, except at Elk Mound Middle School, Lenz said.
The cost of the new reservoir would be $1.415 million, and with the east loop, the cost would be $2.1 million, he said.
New reservoir
A new reservoir could be installed at the existing site of the reservoir, Lenz said.
The village already owns the property, and some of the redundancy would go away. The cost of a new reservoir would be an estimated $960,000, while a transmission line would cost $2.125 million, he said.
The reservoir plus the transmission line would cost $3.085 million. The cost would include the work of restoring University Street, Lenz said.
Water tower
Another option would be installing a water tower for Settlers Ridge as part of the development, Lenz said.
A water tower would make its own water pressure, but the water would age and “get old,” he said.
Operational changes would be needed to minimize the aging of the water, Lenz said.
The water tower would cost $1.28 million, and the transmission mains would be $2.125 million, he said.
The cost of the water tower option, all together, would over $5 million, Lenz said.
Installing a water tower for Settlers Ridge is not the right option for Elk Mound, he said.
Reservoir and loops
In view of all the options available, installing a new reservoir above the school, installing a school loop and installing an east loop would be the recommended option at a cost of $2.1 million, Lenz said, noting the estimate is a “planning level” estimate.
The east loop is needed for fire flows at Settlers Ridge, he said.
Improved fire flows lead to a better ISO rating, which in turns leads to the rate for property insurance decreasing, Lenz said.
The cost for the improvements would be added to the water bills of village residents, but there would be some offset by having lower insurance rates, he said.
There are federal programs to help the village pay for the improvements, Lenz said.
Safe Drinking Water
Lenz recommended the village get on the list for the Safe Drinking Water Fund so that officials know Elk Mound is intending to apply.
CBS Squared can come back to the village board with options for financing the new reservoir, the school loop and the east loop, he said.
If Elk Mound gets on the intent to apply list now, the full application would be done next year, but getting on the list does not obligate the village to apply for Safe Drinking Water Fund money, Lenz said.
There are several different programs available, and the differences between them are the percentage of matching money they require and the paperwork involved, he said.
Improvements to the village’s water system would be included under the utilities budget and there would be no tax levy limit, Lenz said.
The United States Department of Agriculture also has money available for water system improvements, said Jon Strand of CBS Squared.
Strand attended the meeting by Zoom because he was out of state.
Overall, the village does not qualify for Community Development Block Grant funds. Only a few sections of the village qualify, Strand said.
Next step
When Strand returns to Wisconsin, then he and other representatives for CBS Squared will set up a time to attend an Elk Mound Village Board meeting to talk about funding.
There is a hard deadline coming up for the notification of intent to apply, Strand said.
CBS Squared needs an authorization from the village to start the work, he said.
The Intent to apply does not commit Elk Mound to applying. If the village is not on the list, then Elk Mound cannot apply for Safe Drinking Water funds, Lenz said.
The study on the village’s water system was on the agenda as a presentation item with no action items being listed, said Mark Levra, director of public works.
The village clerk can fill out the authorization to get on the intent-to-apply list, and village board action is not needed, Strand said.
The village board must act on actually applying for funds, he said.
