By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The City of Elkhorn Common Council voted 6-0 in favor of approving a task order for the replacement of the Getzen Street water main at its July 6 meeting.
At the meeting, Utility Director John Murphy said the city had been waiting to replace the water main on Getzen Street between Geneva and Centralia streets until Centralia was rebuilt, but with the Centralia project being pushed back, it can no longer wait.
Murphy said the water main had its first break back at about 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night in June. Murphy said they fixed the break and proceeded to refill it with caution, but the water main broke again within minutes. That process continued over roughly an hour, as the deteriorating state of main kept leading to new breaks, according to Murphy.
He said the utility department ultimately ended up isolating the unstable section of the main as much as possible by valving it off yetmaking sure water was still being delivered to residents for the time being.
“We have no choice. We have to get this fixed,” he said.
Murphy said he spoke with City Engineer Mike Timmers to have a task order created to address the water main concerns. Murphy said the task order notes that plans will have to be created for the project, it will have to be submitted to the DNR for approval and then the project will go out for bids so that the city can hopefully get the water main reconstructed yet this year.
City Administrator Jim Heilman said the water utility has funds set aside for capital improvement projects like this, where infrastructure wears out over time.
“We maintain funds, depreciation funds and capital funds. It’s in there for those specific reasons. They operate like a business and they have to have funds just like the city has a contingency fund to fall back on,” Heilman said.
According to the task order prepared by Timmers, the proposed project would include replacing the existing water main, hydrants, water valves and water services while also patching the trench areas with new hot mix asphalt and replacing curb and gutter as needed in the project area.
The water main project does not include replacement of existing storm sewer, sanitary sewer or the entire road section, which should be completed on the same schedule as Centralia Street like previously planned.
The task order also notes construction is anticipated to start in mid August and be completed within about four weeks, though it states the schedule is for estimating purposes only.
The council approved the task order – coming at a cost not-to-exceed $34,340 – unanimously. Future editions of the Elkhorn Independent will share further project details and its projected timeline as they become available.
