FEBRUARY 11, 2025|
Photo – Rawlins’ North Platte River pump pit – Courtesy City of Rawlins
The Rawlins governing body voted last week to declare an emergency and bypass the usual bidding process to repair two river water pumps.
During the January 21st Rawlins city council meeting, Public Works Director Cody Dill explained that the two pumps responsible for taking water from the North Platte River were failing. Dill said the pumps operated without incident for more than two decades. The pumps only recently started to lose pressure.
Public Works Director Dill informed the governing body that the pumps supply untreated water to the pretreatment plant, the Rochelle Ranch Golf Course, and the city’s reservoirs.
Dill said that during a routine inspection, city workers discovered that the pumps required internal repairs.
Dill said the pumps should be refurbished every eight years. However, due to how infrequently the pumps are used, the public works director said they should last up to 16 years each.
Dill also mentioned that the pumps were always operated together. To ensure the city isn’t left without functional pumps in the future, the public works director suggested alternating their use, requiring the city to repair only one pump at a time.
Dill emphasized that the pumps will be needed when the city begins repair work on the water transmission lines. Parts of the roughly 30 miles of pipeline that brings water from the Sage Creek Springs to the water treatment plant are over 100 years old and must be replaced. Dill said the pumps will be used to fill reservoirs with river water, which will then be sent to the pretreatment plant to be made safe for drinking.
Dill mentioned that the pumps have been disassembled and are ready to be sent out for refurbishment. The public works director said repairs will take 18 weeks to complete and asked the governing body to skip the required bidding procedure to expedite the process.
The pumps are estimated to cost $139,448. Current city policy requires all purchases of over $35,000 to be put out for bid.
The city council voted to forgo the standard bidding process and allow Dill to send the pumps to Arvada Pump Company in Arvada, Colorado.
The matter was revisited during the February 4th Rawlins city council meeting. Mayor Jacquelin Wells requested a motion to approve a resolution declaring the pump replacement as an emergency and to allocate money from the water enterprise fund to pay for the repairs.
City Manager Tom Sarvey reminded the council that they approved the repairs during the January 21st meeting. Sarvey said the emergency declaration is necessary to skip the standard bidding process.
City Manager Sarvey said that the repairs are scheduled to take roughly four and a half months to complete and that the pumps must be operational by spring, when water is needed at both the Rochelle Ranch Golf Course and the pretreatment plant.
Councilman Derek Elliott acknowledged that water pumped from the North Platte River is used to supplement the city’s drinking water supply. However, Councilman Elliot said his Ward One constituents are worried that much of the water is being used at the golf course.
City Manager Tom Sarvey said the pumps provide the golf course with the majority of its water supply.
Councilman Elliot asked if any grants exist to help pay for the pump repairs. City Manager Sarvey said he is unaware of any grants that could be used for that purpose. Additionally, going through the grant process would only further delay the repairs.
Councilman Elliot emphasized that the city should prioritize drinking water for residents over watering the golf course greens.
Parks and Recreation Director Nikki Howell clarified that the golf course uses untreated water directly from the river and does not take away from residents’ drinking water supply.
Councilman Steve Sanger explained that the river water contains particles of dirt and other debris, called turbidity. The turbidity is removed from the water at the pretreatment plant before being sent to the treatment plant for further refinement.
Councilman Sanger said the golf course doesn’t require the turbidity to be removed.
Following Councilman Sanger’s remarks, the governing body unanimously voted to declare an emergency, allowing them to bypass the bidding process to have the two river pumps refurbished. The city will use $139,448 from the water enterprise fund to pay for the repairs.
