Scott Co. water dist. to get serious with hook-up fees

The board of directors for Scott County Rural Water District No. 4 is ready to show county residents it means business, and show them fast. That may result in some homes in southern Scott County that need the service being left behind, or paying a larger hook-up fee to join on to the service.

Voters approved a $25 million bond issue to fund the creation of the district last November. Since that time the district's board of directors has solicited sign-ups from residents in the county's southern section.

Those who have signed on have paid a $150 fee to hook up to the service when it comes online. But the district board is ready to get the physical aspects of the project under way, and those who don't sign up by June 1 may have to pay $250 to $300.

Board president Phil Lyon said the rate hike will only apply to potential users in the southern part of the county, where district representatives have canvassed the area to provide information to households eligible to hook onto the district.

"Now we're really starting to press some of the people real hard in those parts of the county we've made two or three passes in," said Lyon. "It's time to make a decision."

After an action plan has been determined for how to proceed in the southern part of the county, the board will focus on northern county households.

The water district was formed to address the need for a clean, reliable water supply for Scott County's rural households, many of which get their water from shallow wells. Shallow wells have high mineral content and are at higher risk of contamination than deep wells.

Any county household not currently serviced by a public water supply is eligible for the service. The bonds to finance the project will be retired through user fees, and the district board has said about 1,000 households are needed to keep costs at an affordable, competitive level.

So far about 625 households in the southern part of the county alone have signed up, but Lyon said the board is hoping for more.

Lyon said the actual cost of connecting a house to the water supply will be about $1,000. Initially Lyon said the construction of the district infrastructure was originally planned for two phases -- northern and southern -- but if more people don't sign on before June construction may have to be broken into more parts.

Lyon said by June water district representatives should be able to start canvassing the county's northern reaches.

Scott County Commissioner Jamie Burger, who represents the county's northern half, said there has been a lot of interest in the project among his constituents already.

"There seems to be just as much interest in the northern part of the county as there is in the southern part," said Burger. "But everybody's skeptical about whether or not it's going to happen."

Burger said once the project moves forward in June he expects residents to be assured the water district is for real, and for interest to grow even more.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182