REHABILITATION AND REPLACEMENT
The City's water system represents a significant investment by its residents. Continual investment is necessary to keep the system in good working order. Table ES-11 shows a comparison of the recommended annual budget for the City's water system based on the service life of various system components.
System Component | Replacement Value | Service Life (years) | Recommended Annual System Investment Range | |
Pipes | $854,800,000 | 60 - 80 | $14,300,000 | $10,700,000 |
Storage | $160,425,000 | 80 - 100 | $2,100,000 | $1,700,000 |
Booster Pump Stations | $22,500,000 | 40 - 50 | $600,000 | $500,000 |
Wells | $20,750,000 | 60 - 80 | $400,000 | $300,000 |
Total | $1,058,475,000 | $17,400,000 | $13,200,000 | |
As summarized in the table, the value of the City's water infrastructure is more than $1 billion. Thus, it is recommended that the City's capital budget for investment in the water system be between $13 million and $17 million to sustainably maintain the system. Because much of the City's system is still relatively new, it is not necessary to spend this much strictly on rehabilitation and replacement. However, the total capital budget (distribution projects above, applicable bonding costs, and rehabilitation and replacement activities) should fall within this range. Recommended funding for rehab and replacement alone is approximately $5 million per year.
An area of particular importance in the rehabilitation and replacement of the system is areas with lead and copper lines. The Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized a major update to their Lead and Copper Rule. In summary, City actions required by the Lead and Copper Rule are as follows:
1. Complete lead and copper inventory by October 2024. This is a hard deadline that must be met by the City and will assist it in developing a detailed plan for subsequent actions.
2. Begin process of replacing lines with lead and copper issues. While regulations that will determine the required timing of lead and copper elimination are still being developed, it is certain that the City will need to budget for at least some action in this regard in the upcoming years. Replacing pipelines in the Dixie Village Area would be a good start.
3. Implement additional actions as required based on sampling results. Depending on sampling results, there may be some additional action required of the City as outlined in this report.