NAVIGATING CAPE'S WATER ISSUE; VOTERS DECIDE TUESDAY

Until the last few months, most Cape Girardeau residents probably didn't spend much time thinking about the city's water system.

They knew the Mississippi River supplies most of the water. They certainly noticed a three-day boil-water order last summer when two intake pumps broke down.

But today, due to two questions on Tuesday's general election ballot, the city is involved in a massive effort to educate voters about the water they drink and the system that produces it.

Officials have presented their information to 47 groups containing more than 1,100 people. They sent out brochures and fliers to countless more.

The information should help voters in Tuesday's general election, and their decisions may mean the difference between plenty of water and a shortage.

Water system manager Tom Taggart closely watches usage levels. Residents almost used the maximum amount of water available on one summer day in 1995.

The city's two water plants -- one near the Diversion Channel and another on Cape Rock Drive -- can produce a maximum of 7.3 million gallons a day. On the aforementioned summer day, residents used 6.8 million gallons.

Water usage as a whole has risen 20 percent since 1992, the year the city purchased the water system from Union Electric. Most of the increase is due to commercial development, Taggart said, but plenty of new homes are being built too. He predicted water demand will exceed present production capacity within the next two years if the system isn't expanded.

If that happened, Taggart said, people would be banned from watering lawns, washing cars and doing other water-using activities they take for granted.

In response to Taggart's prediction, the City Council placed two questions on Tuesday's ballot. Voters will be asked whether they want the city to issue $26.5 million in revenue bonds to pay for water-system improvements.

They also will be asked whether those improvements should be funded with a quarter-cent sales tax.

City Manager Michael Miller said the two issues should be considered as one.

"If we're going to proceed with the project, there must be two `yes' votes," he said. "If we only get one or the other, we will have to get clarification from the voters. That means going back for another vote and delaying the work."

With two `yes' votes, the city will begin designing the Cape Rock Drive plant's expansion in January. Work will begin in the summer.

Officials plan to increase the two water plants' capacity to a total of 10 million gallons per day over the next five years. They want to increase total production to 12.75 million gallons per day over the next 20 years.

Instead of getting water from the river, it would come from 21 new underground wells. Taggart said groundwater is less expensive to treat and easier to bring into compliance with new federal clean-water regulations.

The first phase of planned expansion also includes improving water distribution by constructing larger mains, additional storage tanks and better pumping stations.

Collection of the quarter-cent sales tax would begin in April, raising an estimated $750,000 per year, finance director John Richbourg said. The total sales tax inside Cape Girardeau would be 6.725 cents per dollar. That total includes state and county sales tax.

The city manager said work can't be done without getting all the money up front. Raising the money gradually through a sales tax would mean putting off construction for years, a wait the city can't afford.

Taggart's last presentation was on Friday to members of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. Most of the questions pertained to the city's options if one issue passed Tuesday and the other didn't.

One person asked if the improvements would mean softer water, and the answer was yes, 40 percent softer.

Officials also said there would be no long-term shutdowns at the water plant during expansion. As for a potable water supply to Nash Road, it currently isn't in the plan, but it is a possibility.

Voters with cable television will have the opportunity to learn more about the issue today at 6 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m. Channel 5, the public access channel in Cape Girardeau, will show a videotape of the presentation various city officials delivered over the past two months.

WATER WHAT-IFS...

Cape Girardeau residents will be asked to vote on two water-system issues Tuesday. The questions are whether to sell $26.5 million bonds to finance system improvements and whether to finance those bonds with a quarter-cent sales tax.

City officials are urging voters to consider the two water issues as a package -- they should either vote "yes" on both or "no" on both. If the issues fail, or if voters pass one and not the other, there will be a delay in work on the system.

Here are some potential scenarios:

BOND/TAX

YES/YES

A quarter-cent sales tax to pay off $26.5 million in revenue bonds begins in April 1997. The bonds are issued, and the city begins water plant expansion in the summer.

NO/NO

The issue of an impending water shortage remains. The city council decides whether to take the issues back to the voters.

YES/NO

Because of language in the bond issue, a "yes" vote on it overrides the Hancock Amendment, which says government can't raise fees without a vote of the people. By passing the bond issue, the people allowed the City Council to take any means necessary to raise the money to pay the bonds, including a 59 percent water rate increase.

City Manager Michael Miller says the council won't take such an action without going back to the people. Instead, they likely will introduce the sales tax at a future election. It is a time-consuming process and may mean the city has a water shortage.

NO/YES

The sales tax is levied and collection begins in April 1997. Because the water system expansion can't be done piece-by-piece, the sales tax sits in an account. The City Council decides what to do and probably goes back to the voters with another bond issue.