Consultant recommends replacement of water main under U.S. 2

THIS STORY APPEARED IN THE HAVRE DAILY NEWS ON APRIL 6, 2004.

Citing concerns about contamination risks and the condition and capacity of the city water system under a section of U.S. Highway 2, a consulting firm has recommended that the city replace the water main when the section is torn up in 2006.

The city's public works director said the city also should replace the main sewer line under the section of highway and the service lines connecting the main line to buildings.

The total cost of the projects is estimated at $1.2 million, said Havre public works director Dave Peterson.

Dustin Nett, project engineer for Neil Consultants Inc., said that up to $500,000 of that could be paid for with a Treasure State Endowment Project grant, as long as the price of city water meets a target rate established by the state Department of Commerce based on the median household income in the community.

Havre's water rates is now below the target rate. To qualify for a TSEP grant, the city would have to raise its water and sewer rates by a total of $4.27 per month, Peterson said.

Applications for TSEP grants are due in May.

The project was discussed at Monday night's Havre City Council meeting. Council member Tom Farnham said that if there is a rate increase, it will not be until next year, and only if the city's application is successful.

Before the Montana Department of Transportation will begin replacing the segment of U.S. Highway 2 running through Havre, the city must guarantee that the water main, the sewer main and the storm drain underneath the highway will last for at least 20 years, said Joe Murphy, project manager for Neil Consultants.

The firm was hired to evaluate the conditions of the water line from Montana Avenue to 18th Avenue.

The firm's conclusion was that the city will need to replace the water main to meet its obligations to MDT.

Murphy told the council that there is gasoline and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in the soil around the pipes. The contamination has not permeated the main, he said, but it could at some time in the future if the main is not replaced.

He added that the integrity of the line is questionable because of its age.

Murphy also said the pipe is not wide enough in some places, meaning that in the case of a fire, pressure from water used to fight the fire could cause the pipe to fail.

The firm concluded that replacing the water main is "the only solution to rectify all of the problems associated with the existing deficiencies and health concerns of the existing water main within the planning corridor," the preliminary engineering report says.

The cost of replacing the water main is estimated at $615,965.

Havre could also help pay for the project with money from a state revolving loan fund, Peterson said. The city would have to increase its rates by 89 cents to qualify for that loan, he said.

In other business Monday night:

The council voted 7-0 to annex 5 acres into the city. The Parkview Subdivision, being developed by DS Land Co., is at the end of 12th Street on the eastern edge of Glo-Ed. The land has 10 lots that will be developed into single-family residential units, said Dayna Springer, president of DS Land Co.

The second of two public hearings on proposed Community Development Block Grant projects was scheduled for April 19 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The council voted 7-0 to approve a request from the H. Earl Clack Museum Board to put up four 18-by-36-inch traffic light pole banners at four downtown locations. The banners advertise the Clack Museum and the Wahkpa Chu'gn Bison Kill Site.

The council approved construction agreements that will allow the Montana Department of Transportation to send two Havre road projects out to bid. The projects will put a 2-inch overlay of asphalt on 10th Street between First and Fifth avenues and on 13th Street between Monroe and First avenues.