July 31, 2023 |
Photo – Rawlins Water Treatment Sign – Bigfoot99 file photo
Rawlins begins an exhaustive water study and looks into ways to pay for improvements.
Following last summer’s disastrous water infrastructure failures, Rawlins city officials have asked the Wyoming Water Development Commission to perform an in-depth examination of the city’s water situation.
Drought caused low water levels in the Sage Creek Basin, where the city gets most of its water. The low volume of water combined with infrastructure failures resulted in a weeklong boil advisory.
To ensure the same problems would not happen again, the city has decided to explore more options to provide residents with potable water. The first step was to reopen the dormant water pre-treatment plant to draw water directly from the North Platte River. The pre-treatment plant will take some of the pressure of removing contaminates from the river water off the main treatment plant.
However, the reactivation of the pre-treatment plant won’t fix the problems at the Sage Creek Basin. Years of low rainfall and increasing population have prevented the springs from recovering as quickly as expected. The city needs to investigate alternative water sources.
During the July 18th Rawlins city council meeting, City Manager Tom Sarvey said George Moser from the Wyoming Water Development Commission was in the city, earlier in the month, to get the level one water study under way.
Sarvey said the level one water study consisted of several stages. The city manager said the Water Development Commission would begin by estimating how much the city would grow in the future. Sarvey said the commission would use the population estimate to determine what water sources could be utilized to support the city.
Sarvey said the level one study also will provide an overview of the city’s existing water infrastructure. The city manager said monthly meetings will be held to discuss the study’s findings. He invited the council to participate in the meetings.
Sarvey said on July 10th, several state and federal agencies were in the city to discuss how to pay for the necessary upgrades the water infrastructure requires. He said the State Loan and Investment Board, representatives from the Governor’s office, and others came together to pitch funding ideas.
Sarvey said the state and federal agency representatives suggested the city improve the water and sewer system together, as opposed to focusing on just the water transmission lines.
Last year, the city of Rawlins applied for a seven and a half million-dollar ARPA grant through the State Loan and Investments Board. The money was going to be used to replace the water transmission lines from the Sage Creek Springs into the city. Last October, when SLIB announced which municipalities would receive federal funding, Rawlins was completely denied any grant money.
Speaking at the July 18th city council meeting, Sarvey said SLIB has announced another round of ARPA grants. The city manager said the state and federal representatives suggested the city request funding to prepare a plan to replace the water transmission lines. Sarvey said he would come to the August 1st city council meeting with the amount of money the city would need to contribute to receive the grant.
Sarvey said the city would need to use money from a Mineral Royalty Grant and cash reserves to secure the funding match.
Sarvey said the level one water study is scheduled to be completed by July 30th, 2024.
