NEW WATER LINE HEADED TO CITY AIRPORT

Construction is under way on a water line that will provide improved fire protection for the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

The $172,915 project involves laying about a mile of 12-inch water line from the Nash Road industrial site southward to the airport.

Federal block-grant money administered through the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department is paying 90 percent of the cost. The city is providing the other 10 percent.

The contractor, R.L. Persons Construction Inc. of Poplar Bluff, began laying the water line a couple weeks ago. The project is expected to be completed by late January.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said the airport is on well water, but there is not enough for fire protection.

The water line to the airport will be connected to the Nash Road water system, which provides non-drinking water from shallow wells.

The city took over operation of the Nash Road system when it purchased the Union Electric water system that serves Cape Girardeau.

In the future the Nash Road system will probably be tied into the city's southside water plant, Fischer said, providing potable water to the area.

But such a costly project, estimated to cost half a million dollars, isn't warranted at this time, Fischer said.

So the city will use the Nash Road water for fire protection. The water line will serve fire hydrants and a new sprinkler system that was installed in the renovated airport terminal.

Drinking water at the airport will continue to be provided by two wells. City Engineer Kensey Russell said the two wells are deeper than the ones along Nash Road and don't have the heavy mineral content that makes the Nash Road water undrinkable without costly treatment.

Connecting the airport to the Nash Road water system will allow firefighters to pump 1,000 to 1,200 gallons of water a minute in the case of a fire, Russell said.