Brock Pfost of Middlefork Water Company came to the regular Grant City Council Meeting and told them that they were going to face increasingly strict water regulations from the state. In Missouri, the state DNR has primacy over EPA because Missouri's is stricter under the Clean Water Act. The Sierra Club successfully sued the state because they said that the state was not strict enough in regulating small towns. The cost for complying with new regulations, according to Pfost, could be astronomical. For instance, he said that Hopkins would have to pay between $1.8 to $2.2 million to come into compliance with DNR regulations. And even then, there is another problem; sometimes, cities spend six or seven figures to come into compliance only to have the state make up new regulations, meaning that the city is out of compliance again. By way of comparison, Maryville has had to spend $13 million to upgrade their water system to address ammonia issues while St. Joseph had to raise their sewer rates $25/month permanently and spend $50 million in order to address ammonia issues. And Ravenwood had to spend $650,000 in order to come into compliance, only to be told three weeks later they were still out of compliance.
The current issue that the state is focusing on is ammonia. Pfost said that Grant City could build a zero-discharge system and apply wastewater to area farmlands. The city would need 70 acres plus 20-30 more for a buffer zone. Grant City's current lagoon permit, which they obtained in 2008, expired last October. Under the proposed new system, the city would have to find a way to store the wastewater until they could irrigate it. In this manner, Pfost said the city would avoid costs associated with taking chlorine out before disinfecting the water.
The EPA has finalized new toxicity standards, meaning that Missouri's DNR has to follow suit or lose primacy status. That, according to Pfost, would mean that area cities and towns would be regulated by EPA and not DNR. The DNR has supplied a list of possible technologies that cities could use. But Pfost said that if cities don't discharge, there was no limit to how much water they could apply to land. He predicted that phosphorus would be the next point of emphasis; he said the only way to remove it would be through chemicals.
Currently, the city charges 50% of water rates for sewer. That would figure out to $21.50 for 5,000 gallons. The council agreed to raise that to 62.5%, which Pfost said would be enough to finance a $250,000 project if necessary. He predicted that water and sewer rates were headed up around the area. The DNR is seeking to meet with cities to explain the changes.
Pfost said that the lake is down to four feet, which he said was one foot higher than last year's flash drought. He said that he would like to be able to sell water if necessary to Nodaway County if water levels permit.
The new 11 mile water line is now open for service. The city successfully completed testing for the new line and has now switched over. Final details of the project were discussed. Connection was completed on Tuesday, February 18th. All that is left is closing off the old line and cleanup work. Randy Mehendall of Snyder & Associates agreed to put gravel on roads affected by water line work. He said he would do so as soon as possible, when roads dried out. The line has a one year warranty effective February 18th. The city has $36,000 worth of grant money left over for the project that they can use until May 16th.
The council voted to sell an old vehicle that they didn't need to Ed Ackley for $1,014.
Water Superintendent Greg Miller reported that there were three leaks, 40 frozen meters including some that had never froze before, and some frozen pipes. One line was four feet deep but still froze. There was a main break at the state barn. The tower never got low; however, there was one point in which the city couldn't get the water to town. The council discussed moving some lines in the future to prevent freezing. Some tubes were sinking due to settlement, which happens more frequently in drought conditions.
Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that the dump truck needed new back tires for $1,200. He reported that the city was short of salt. Due to heavy snow in the eastern part of the country, the entire nation has been short of salt this year. However, he said the city was able to get by through getting calcium chloride in Maryville and mixing it with rock salt from MFA.
Great Northwest Days will be April 7th and 8th this year. They were moved due to the weather.
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