2 miles of lines to be replaced; new water tower, well planned

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The city of Seligman is seeking voter approval on April 7 to issue bonds to fund a major water infrastructure project at a cost of $9.2 million.

The proposal would authorize up to $10 million in bonding capacity for improvements to the city’s water system.

“The actual project itself is estimated at a $9.2 million cost, and that is inflated to cover any rising costs because you don’t know if it’s going to start in six months or a year and a half,” said Brian Nichols, city clerk.

The project focuses on upgrading key infrastructure and expanding system capacity.

“It will replacing the primary backbone of our system, which is a 4-inch line, upgrading that to an 8-inch water line,” Nichols said. “That will also include the installation of a new water tower, which doubles our system capacity here, and it will include a new well.”

More than two miles of water line would be replaced as part of the work.

“It’s running north on Main Street — almost all of Main Street is included — and then back over behind Lucky T’s on the north side of Highway 37,” Nichols said.

Land would also be purchased to accommodate new infrastructure.

“It would include the purchase of roughly about one acre of land on the north end of town to hold the building for the well and the water tower,” Nichols said.

That site was chosen to maintain consistent water pressure with the existing system.

“That area matches the elevation of the older tower, so we don’t want any pressure issues,” Nichols said.

Nichols said the project is designed to increase the system’s reliability, particularly during emergencies.

“Right now we have 24-26 hours worth of system capacity,” Nichols said. “In the event of a power failure, without having secondary power to turn wells on, our system would go out of water in 24-26 hours. We would double the capacity of our system [after the project’s completion], so we’d have 48 hours plus worth of water on hand.”

The improvements would also strengthen water pressure in some areas of the city.

“It increases pressure on the southeast part of our water system and it will have various hydraulic impacts throughout the system,” Nichols said. “Primarily, it really helps out the southeast corner.”

While pressure issues have not been frequent, Nichols said, the current system can be vulnerable when water levels drop.

“It hasn’t really been an issue, but if we get too low in the water tower then there can be some pressure issues on the southeast part of our system,” he said. “So, we just make sure to always stay above that level.”

Nichols said the existing tower would remain in service alongside the new one.

“At the same time, we would also be able to completely shut that water tower down and go inside and recoat the inside to provide maintenance on it whenever that comes up,” he said.

Having two towers would also allow the city to perform maintenance without interrupting service.

“It would allow us to fluctuate between the two,” Nichols said. “If one of them needs to go down for repairs, then it doesn’t put the system out of commission.”

The current water tower has been in place for more than two decades, installed in 1998. The water lines being replaced date back even further.

“The old transite line — some of that started to be put in place around the late 1950s into the 1960s,” Nichols said. “The system was just continuously added on to.”

Because of its age and southwest’s Missouri’s rocky terrain can contribute to maintenance issues.

“Because it is an older line, it can be brittle for vibrations or flexing, which can cause leaks,” Nichols said. “It’s prone to leaking. Our ground is so rocky around here that any shifts in the ground — rocks press on pipes — cause cracks and leaks.”

Finance-wise, the city currently carries no outstanding bond debt.

“It was two years ago when we made our last payment on bonds from 1997 and 2001, and those are completely paid off,” Nichols said. “If the public votes this into place, that would open us up to qualify for 40% of the $9.2 million worth of grants.”

City leaders have also been saving funds for the project since a rate increase implemented several years ago.

“The rate increase that the city started back in 2018 — we have been saving that money every single year and putting it into certificates of deposit,” Nichols said. “We have more than $1 million in the bank right now.”

Nichols said that combination of grants and savings would reduce the amount the city would need to finance.

“Four million coming from grants and paying the other $1 million out in cash, then we’re just financing $4 million,” he said.

Customers would likely see an increase in water rates to cover the project costs.

“They’re anticipating it’d be around $12.48 per customer per month to be the increase that customers would expect,” Nichols said. “That doesn’t take into account the rising costs of labor, material and everything, and with cost of operation we can’t say that rates aren’t going to go up afterwards.”

Residents will have an opportunity to learn more about the proposal during a public meeting later this month.

“On March 23 at 6 p.m., we have a representative with McLiney and Company who’s handling the finances for the bond,” Nichols said. “Part of their services is they host public meetings to go through and enlighten the public and answer any questions.”

Additional information is also available through the city.

“On the city’s website is a full printout of the water system project, which includes the cost breakdown, maps and everything,” Nichols said. “I’ve also got large prints here at City Hall and copies of the primary items people are really looking for.”

People may find the engineering report at https://seligmanmo.gov/documents/ by clicking “Water Department” and “Water System Upgrade – Current Project.”

The bond issue will appear on the April 7 Municipal Election ballot, and it requires a four-sevenths (57.1%) majority to pass.