Scott County officials seek help getting water district running

BENTON, Mo. -- Officials in Scott County are asking for a little help to get Rural Water District No. 4 up and running.

They hope interested residents will help bring the service online sooner by taking the initiative to sign up.

Water district board president Phil Lyon said the service needs about 1,000 users to sign on before it can get its hands on the funding approved by voters last November. As of now the water district has about 500 committed users.

So far the water district has had to use direct mail as its key approach to informing residents about the service and how they can sign up. A few part-time workers have also gone door to door, primarily in the county's southern region.

"It's really not easy to get this word out through the mail, because there are a number of people who have no mail receptacles and we don't know what their P.O. box number is," said Lyon.

So far the only way to find mailing addresses has been by looking them up in phone books or online, Lyon said.

County officials strongly hope the water district gets the commitments it needs from users. They've touted benefits like cleaner and safer drinking water and increased fire protection for rural areas.

The water district would service all parts of the county not currently served by a public water supply.

Norman Gribler, a Rockview resident who supported formation of the water district from the beginning, said information has been slow getting to his part of the county.

He said he hasn't heard anything about the progress on the water supply or received any information about signing up.

Jamie Burger, second district county commissioner, said he has heard from some of his constituents interested in signing up.

"All I hear from people is they want to sign up, they just haven't been contacted," Burger said of those who have contacted him.

Lyon said the process is just slow going. After the southern half of the county is blanketed, a process currently going on, then the district board will turn its attention to the county's northern section. Lyon estimates there may be close to 4,000 addresses in the county that could use the service, and those who have been contacted have responded graciously.

He hopes that by April the district can start to see the funds it needs. The $25 million bond issue passed in November will be funded by district user fees. Because of that, Lyon said, he wants to do things right and make sure the users are there before moving forward.

Information on how to sign up for the district is on the Scott County Web site at www.scottcountymo.com or by calling (573) 380-7557.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182