Cape project to eliminate need for use of Mississippi River water

A Cape Girardeau city water project delayed when sinkholes started appearing along South Sprigg Street is back on track to eliminate the need for using Mississippi River water sometime next year.

Almost 8 miles of 24-inch pipe are being delivered to the city and stored at the Public Works Department facility at 2007 Southern Expressway, ready for building the line that will take water from four new city wells to Water Plant No. 1 on Cape Rock Drive.

A meeting with potential bidders will be held next month and a contract could be considered by the Cape Girardeau City Council in October, said Kevin Priester, water system manager for the city's water utility operator, Alliance Water Resources.

The wells, which have a capacity of more than 1,600 gallons a minute each, will allow the city to expand its available water supply to 12 million gallons each day, said Tim Gramling, director of public works. With the river water eliminated as a source, purifying the water for delivery to homes and businesses will be simpler and cheaper, he said.

The work is being financed by a city bond issue from 1996. That paid for Water Plant No. 1 as well as several wells nearby. Planning for the new wells, the second phase of the project, began in 2003. A location was identified for the wells and the course of the pipeline charted, Priester said.

But the sinkholes, which started appearing in large numbers early in 2008, forced the wells' location to change. The new wells are near Water Plant No. 2, which is close to the intersection of South Sprigg Street and Old U.S. 61.

"The sinkholes threw everybody for a loop because we were going to drill the wells a little closer to the river but we would have had to put the pipe through those sinkholes and nobody was comfortable with that," Priester said.

Currently about half the city's water comes directly from the Mississippi River. The remainder comes from wells. Customers may notice that the water is a little softer, but few other changes will be noticeable, Priester said.

The city purchased the pipe ahead of seeking construction bids when pipe prices fell dramatically this spring, Priester said. The 42,000 feet of pipe cost $1.32 million, a savings of more than $1 million over an estimate made in October by the consulting engineer. And since the pipe was purchased, prices have rebounded more than 30 percent.

Priester said he knows the improvements are long-promised but asked for patience. "It had to go through property acquisition and that takes time," he said. "It has been a long time coming but this is one of those once in a lifetime projects where you better take your time and do it right."

rkeller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses:

2007 Southern Expressway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.