Water supply district breaks ground on new waterworks facility

A little more than 200 customers near Nell Holcomb School District could see cleaner water in as soon as three months with the planned completion of a waterworks facility and distribution lines.

At a cost of about $2.8 million, the water system of Public Water Supply District No. 5 includes a well, treatment facility and 31 1/2 miles of water mains that will supply the school, East County Fire Protection District, other businesses and homeowners. The 212 residents who will benefit from the new system use water that contains heavy concentrations of sulfates and iron, which will be eliminated once the project is complete, said district president Judy Foeste.

"You have no idea how excited and thrilled we are," said Foeste, who has worked on the facility project 11 years. "It's been a long road, but it's definitely going to be worth it."

The treatment facility that community leaders recently broke ground on will be adjacent to the school, one of the water district's largest users. Superintendent Darryl Pannier said he is looking forward to what he hopes is a cheaper service for the school of 290 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

"By not using our own well anymore it will allow us to stop spending funds on water softener and filtration," Pannier said. "With their timeline in place, we're hoping that we'll have the new service in place by the time school starts next year."

Most of the financing came from a $1.4 million grant and $880,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development program, though the Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded a $500,000 grant to the district in 2007 and the water supply district supplied an additional $30,000.

Foeste said that while all of the distribution lines won't be complete for five months, she expects some users to receive water once the treatment facility is complete within three to four months. While the district will use one well located on Yupic Lane off County Road 635, a new well could be built at the site of the treatment facility. Additionally, a stand pipe, also known as a water tower, will replace its storage tank that holds up to 150,000 gallons of water.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

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6547 Highway 177, Cape Girardeau, MO