MADISON — New Glarus is seeking state approval to construct an estimated $3.2 million water reservoir to serve current and future water needs. 

For the past several years, the village’s water storage system, a standpipe with a 220,900-gallon effective capacity, has been too small, by about 80,000 gallons, to meet average daily demand. It’s also 446,600 gallons too small to meet the desired capacity to fight a major fire, according to an August 2023 Department of Natural Resources report. 

The village isn’t under any order to increase its water storage capacity but wants to have a sufficient supply for firefighting and to encourage housing development, especially on the east side, said Lauren Freeman, village administrator. 

“We’re working with a developer on a land donation for the site of the reservoir,” she said Tuesday. 

A parcel on the south side of CTH W about a half mile east of Wis. 69 was identified in the construction application Town & Country Engineering submitted to the Public Service Commission (PSC) on behalf of the village in September. After requesting and receiving more information from the consultants, the PSC deemed the application complete on Tuesday and will begin evaluating it. 

The DNR has already given conditional approval to the project. 

The 300,000-gallon concrete ground level reservoir will connect to the water distribution system through a 2,000-foot-long water main. New electronic controls for the new reservoir and the village’s three wells, at $517,00, are included in the project. 

The village received a $1 million federal grant toward the reservoir’s cost through an appropriation authored by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, Freeman said. 

The village is lining up a lender for the remaining funds. Freeman anticipates it will be a long-term, low-interest U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan. 

Water bills could increase by an estimated 39% to repay the loan, according to Town & Country.  

A rate case will be filed early next year with the PSC, Freeman said. The commission will set new rates based on the project’s cost to the village and the rate of return the water utility needs to earn to remain financially viable. 

“I don’t expect any increase to be set until the last quarter of 2024,” Freeman said. 

The project will be bid in the first quarter of 2024, which pushes the initial intended construction start date past April and into the summer, she said. Construction is expected to take about 14 months. 

At 300,000 gallons, the new reservoir is the right size for the village, according to Town & Country. It would provide a full day’s water supply and meet the village’s needs for the next 50 years, according to Town & Country. 

A 500,000-gallon reservoir would cost an additional $500,000 and, in the event of a major fire, it would be closer to providing the ISO-recommended 3,500 gallon per minute fire flow rate for three hours.  

However, the larger tank would provide more than double the amount of the village’s current daily water demand, which causes water quality issues associated with less frequent water turnover and is more prone to freezing, Town & County noted. 

The existing standpipe reservoir would remain in service.