MADISON - The village of Browntown began replacing its 70-year-old well house and associated equipment Monday, the day it received approval from the Public Service Commission for the $501,000 project.
Demolition of the old well house was completed Monday and construction of the new facility will take about three weeks, Village President Bob Hauser said on his last day in office.
The well house is in poor condition and needs upgrading to meet current Department of Natural Resources standards, according to the PSC order.
"We haven't gotten any complaints about the cost. Everyone realized it had to be replaced," Hauser said.
The PSC approved a project that includes a new well house, new pump, a chemical feed room, an emergency power generator, piping and replacement of about 800 feet of water main along Old Highway Road.
The village is replacing sanitary sewer lines along Old Highway Road and in four other locations beginning next month. The combined sewer and well house projects cost in excess of $730,000, Hauser said.
The utility plans to fund the well house project with cash on hand, a Community Development Block Grant, and a loan from a local bank, according to the rate order. PSC staff estimated that water rates would need to increase by 38 percent.
Hauser agreed that water rates will need to be increased but the amount will not be known until the project costs are finalized. He expected a water rate application will be filed with the PSC later this year.
A 38 percent increase in rates would add at least $13.45 to a residential water customer's quarterly bill. Residents currently paying $35.40 quarterly in volume charges for 12,000 gallons of water would pay $48.85 for the same amount of water if rates increased 38 percent. An actual increase would depend on the project cost, inflation and the utility's requested rate of return.
The utility reported water revenues of $98,644 in 2015, according to the PSC. It has 128 customers.
The well house project comes after years of declining water usage. Between 2011 and 2015, average gallons per residential customer declined by 40 percent, according to annual reports to the PSC.
The PSC estimated the well would need to operate about two hours a day but Hauser said it would probably operate even less than that.
"The tower takes about six hours to fill, that lasts about three days so we pump every third day or so," he said.
Asked if building a $500,000 well house for a pump that operates so little is reasonable, Hauser replied, "it's the only well we have."
The scale of the sewer and water projects are something the village has not experienced in some time, Hauser said.
"Nothing like this has happened for 40 years," he said.
Demolition of the old well house was completed Monday and construction of the new facility will take about three weeks, Village President Bob Hauser said on his last day in office.
The well house is in poor condition and needs upgrading to meet current Department of Natural Resources standards, according to the PSC order.
"We haven't gotten any complaints about the cost. Everyone realized it had to be replaced," Hauser said.
The PSC approved a project that includes a new well house, new pump, a chemical feed room, an emergency power generator, piping and replacement of about 800 feet of water main along Old Highway Road.
The village is replacing sanitary sewer lines along Old Highway Road and in four other locations beginning next month. The combined sewer and well house projects cost in excess of $730,000, Hauser said.
The utility plans to fund the well house project with cash on hand, a Community Development Block Grant, and a loan from a local bank, according to the rate order. PSC staff estimated that water rates would need to increase by 38 percent.
Hauser agreed that water rates will need to be increased but the amount will not be known until the project costs are finalized. He expected a water rate application will be filed with the PSC later this year.
A 38 percent increase in rates would add at least $13.45 to a residential water customer's quarterly bill. Residents currently paying $35.40 quarterly in volume charges for 12,000 gallons of water would pay $48.85 for the same amount of water if rates increased 38 percent. An actual increase would depend on the project cost, inflation and the utility's requested rate of return.
The utility reported water revenues of $98,644 in 2015, according to the PSC. It has 128 customers.
The well house project comes after years of declining water usage. Between 2011 and 2015, average gallons per residential customer declined by 40 percent, according to annual reports to the PSC.
The PSC estimated the well would need to operate about two hours a day but Hauser said it would probably operate even less than that.
"The tower takes about six hours to fill, that lasts about three days so we pump every third day or so," he said.
Asked if building a $500,000 well house for a pump that operates so little is reasonable, Hauser replied, "it's the only well we have."
The scale of the sewer and water projects are something the village has not experienced in some time, Hauser said.
"Nothing like this has happened for 40 years," he said.