"The last reservoir we added to the system was 28 years ago and this will be the biggest one we have," said Doug Drummey, director of the Council Bluffs Water Works. "This will be 50 percent bigger than our biggest reservoir now. This will be a key part of our system, helping us meet the demand of the system and provide additional storage." . . .
The reservoir will be 130 feet in diameter and 40 feet high from the floor to the top of the dome. Â . .
Work will start in the next few weeks, Drummey said, and will be completed by November.
Water is a great bargain, a local official said, but it's not immune from ever-rising production costs.
With a growing city like Council Bluffs, it's important to ensure money will be available whenever major projects must be built to meet the growing demand, said Doug Drummey, director of the Council Bluffs Water Works. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
. . . This storage is coming in the form of a 3-million-gallon water reservoir near Hillcrest Avenue and Harmony Street. This structure, which currently looks like some domed stadium, is 50 percent bigger than any other city reservoir.
After some structural testing for leaks and such, it's possible that the reservoir could begin filling with water this week, Drummey said. . . .
There's much more going on, including plans for a second water plant. . . .
The proposed second water plant would be built somewhere on the city's south side to help out the current main facility on North 25th Street. The new plant would be built to produce 5 million gallons per day initially with the ability to expand that to 10 million gallons, Drummey said.
It's hoped that this second plant could be up and running by 2010, he said. . .
Dirt will soon fill in around most of the reservoir so that only the dome and a small portion of the base will be above ground.
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Rural residents in Hardin, Lewis, Garner and Keg Creek townships may have access to Council Bluffs water by the end of 2009.
Information packets and applications from Regional Water/Rural Water Association in Avoca were mailed to residents on Jan. 3. Urban Bluffs East Phase I Expansion Project's construction and cost will depend on commitments from landowners and residents, said project coordinator Eric Jones.
A fund package of $2.4 million from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development will help reduce connection costs to residents. . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
. . . The current plant, located on North 25th Street and built in the early 1950s, will remain, but will eventually be complemented by a second plant to be built down south near Gifford Road and South 20th Street. While the plant gets water directly from the Missouri River, the new facility will get its supply from groundwater, also known as well water, Drummey said. . . .
The new plant would produce five million gallons of water per day and could expand to 10 million gallons per day if needed later, Drummey said.
"We're developing the project in phases, and we are designing the plant now," he said. "My goal is to have it up and running by the summer of 2011, and that's an ambitious schedule." . . .
The Water Works has already acquired 85 acres of land for the projects and hopes to soon close on another 22 acres to build the plant, Drummey said.
Just as the construction is being done in phases, so is the acquisition of money. The Water Works earlier this year secured a $10,353,000 loan from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Finance Authority to purchase equipment for the plant, development of five production wells and the remaining land acquisition. The actual building itself is estimated to cost $20 million, and the Water Works hopes to close on that next year, Drummey said. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Council Bluffs is will undertake a major, once-in-a-lifetime project, according to a local official. "It's all pretty exciting," said Doug Drummey, executive director of the Council Bluffs Water Works.
He was referring to a second water plant for the city to be located along Gifford Road near the Missouri River on the south side of town to keep pace with a growing community and ensure water will be available should something happen to shut down the current plant on North 25th Street. . . .
While the current plant on North 25th Street gets its water directly from the Missouri River, the new plant will tap into ground water, according to Drummey. And, things already are springing up.
"We have a contract and have begun development of the well fields," he said. . . .
The Water Works has purchased 110 acres down south for the plant and five test holes have already been drilled to determine to best place to install the plant.
"They're all looking good," Drummey said of those holes. "We're confident we'll get the capacity we want."
When construction is complete, the goal is for the plant to produce at least 5 million gallons of water per day, up to possibly 7.5 million gallons, he said. Expansion later on could increase that to 10 million gallons daily, he added. Currently, the North 25th Street plant produces around 20 million gallons daily. . . .
Once the remaining $20 million for the project is secured, and construction begins, the plan is to have the plant in operation by the summer of 2011, Drummey said. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
There is good news in these tough economic times, and Council Bluffs residents are the benefactors, a Water Works official said.
A new water treatment plant on the south side of town, estimated by designers to cost $32 million, will be done for just $21 million, said Doug Drummey, executive director. . .
The Water Works Board on Tuesday accepted a bid of $21,100,400 by Foley Co., a Kansas City-based construction firm. This was the lowest of five bids, all of which were within $1 million of each other, Drummey said.
“All were at less than a 5 percent difference,” he said. “It’s almost unheard of in that size of project to be that close. Our customers are the beneficiaries of that. It’s a sign of the times. There’s not a lot of this type of work going on. We’re the beneficiaries of a favorable bidding climate.”
The bids were so low, that additional features needed eventually were able to purchased now, Drummey said. The plant, to be located along the Missouri River by Gifford Road, will produce 5 million gallons of water daily with the ability to expand that to 10 million gallons daily eventually to meet a growing city, Drummey said. A 1.5 million gallon storage reservoir is needed immediately, but the low cost allowed the board to approve a 3 million gallon reservoir.
“This is a real cost savings to our customers to get it done now and not have to add this on later,” Drummey said. A second pre-treatment basin where water is stored prior to purification will also be built now, instead of later, he added. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
Tim Rohwer
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE wrote:COUNCIL BLUFFS - Ground-breaking ceremonies are planned this month for a $35 million water plant to complement Council Bluffs' current facility on North 25th Street, according to Doug Drummey, executive director of the Council Bluffs Water Works.
“This is about securing the water supply for the future of our community; and I can't think of anything more vital than that public health, fire protection, economic development,” he said. “It's an important day for Council Bluffs.”
The ceremony's date awaits the availability of invited dignitaries and Water Works officials, Drummey said. Work has started at the facility at 6401 Gifford Road on the south side of the city, he said.
Just moments into his speech to dignitaries at a Wednesday morning ceremony, Council Bluffs Water Works Director Doug Drummey suddenly had to raise his voice as the loud, pounding sound of a nearby pile driver began to reverberate. . . .
The new plant, set for completion in late spring 2012, is on Gifford Road, about a mile south of the Council Bluffs Recycling Center and six miles south of the city’s current facility on North 25th Street near the Narrows Park.
The new plant will be 210 feet long, 130 feet wide and 41 feet tall, similar in size to the current structure, Drummey said. When completed, it will initially treat up to 5 million gallons of water daily, a figure that could be increased to 10 million gallons if needed in the future, he said.
The plant will treat water that comes from five vertical wells nearby. Other features include a high-service pumping station with 3,200 horsepower vertical turbine pumps.
The total investment, including the purchase of 100 acres for the plant and wells, is $35 million, Drummey said. . . .
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
