JACKSON LOOKS AT IMPROVEMENTS IN CITY WATER SYSTEM

JACKSON -- Next week, aldermen are scheduled to authorize bids for construction of a new water line and to loop existing lines in the city's water supply system.

But it's time for the city to start looking at further measures for increasing the city's water supply and treatment capability, says city administrator Steve Wilson, and for providing a backup in the event of equipment failure.

On June 25, two of the city wells pumped water for 24 hours straight, a third for 23.5 hours and the fourth for 17 hours to meet residents' demands, Wilson said.

"What that tells you is you're seven and a half hours from being at maximum capability," he said. "We have a water dilemma here because of our growth."

Had one of the wells gone out of commission that day, he said, residents could have been left high and dry.

Wilson points that water usage goes up in summer as residents water their lawns, wash cars and fill swimming pools.

But as the city's population continues to grow, more and more households are making demands on the water system.

"Residential growth is just slow and steady," Wilson said. "It almost sneaks up on you. We knew we had energy needs. We knew we had sewer needs."

While city staff were putting together figures on how much water the city has been treating, they realized they had water needs, too, he said.

"It's a significant number," Wilson said. "On a couple of days this last month, we utilized almost 2 million gallons of water in this town."

By the end of June, 65 permits were issued for new single-family residences, which means 65 additional tap-ins to the city's water system.

"That's already ahead of our record-setting year in 1994," he said.

The city will seek bids on construction of a new line from new water tower along Interstate 55 to the northeast quadrant of the city. As part of that project, existing lines will be looped together to help improve water circulation and supply.

The city has budgeted approximately $250,000 for the project, which Wilson says could be completed this construction year.

City staff are now working on getting easements and other details for the work, he said.

In Cape Girardeau, residents may be asked to approve a quarter-cent sales tax to fund an estimated $43 million in upgrades to the city's treatment plant and water lines.

At this point, Jackson officials haven't put a price tag on improvements.

"We're going to give it some study, and there will be some at least stopgap improvements," Wilson said.

Jackson actually has five water wells. The first, drilled in 1906, went out of operation several years ago. The city's newest well was drilled in 1988.

The city's 1997 budget includes funding for drilling a sixth well "as a stopgap measure," Wilson said.

But reviewing the city's water usage and supply system shows other improvements are needed.

"What it tells us is we've got to do some planning and start to look at some additional water sources as well as an upgrade or an additional water plant sometime in the future," Wilson said.

In addition, he said, there are several areas of the city where existing water lines need to be replaced or upgraded. There are several lines that dead end, and in some areas, lines of different sizes all operate off the same supply line.

"We've probably got eight or 10 areas where we need to totally replace existing water lines," Wilson said.

The high demand seen on June 25 is not the norm, he said. On average, residents use 1.6 million gallons of water daily. On June 9, the low demand day last month, 1.2 million gallons were pumped.

At this point, Wilson said, he's most concerned about what will happen if one of the wells goes out of commission.

"We don't have any backup system, is my concern," he said. "We're not at a point here where we have to look at water rationing or anything like that."

In addition to supplying residents and businesses, the city sells treated water to water haulers.

Improvements to the city's water system will also help attract additional industry, city officials say.