BROOKINGS – The Brookings City Council heard from Brookings Municipal Utilities last month about planned upgrades to the water system, including a new water plant, which is estimated to cost around $54 million.

There will be a virtual public meeting at 1 p.m. May 10 for residents to get more information, ask questions and make comments. The virtual meeting format will be Webex. You can join via computer (Meeting password – BDMTG 5-10-21, Access Code 1829776442) or via telephone at 844-621-3956 – Access Code 1829776442. Questions regarding this project can be directed to Eric Witt at 605-692-6325.

Witt, water/wastewater and engineering manager for Brookings Municipal Utilities, said during the council meeting the plan was a roadmap for sustainability into the future.

Existing water system

Delvin DeBoer, project manager with AE2S (Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.), explained the existing water system. The water comes from the Big Sioux Aquifer, which has two arms: the North Well Field in Six Mile Creek north of Brookings, and the East Well Field in Deer Creek between Brookings and Aurora. The North Well Field serves most of the north and northwest side of town while the East Well Field serves the northeast portion and southern portion. 

“The north water treatment plant is the older of the two. It was built in the ’30s and expanded in the ’50s and the ’70s,” DeBoer said. It treats 2.5 million gallons a day with 1.5 million gallons of storage on site. The east site treats 4 million gallons per day and 3 million gallons of on-site storage. They use lime sludge ponds to soften the water; treatment also removes iron and manganese, and disinfects the water.

Three water towers serve the town: a 500,000-gallon tower on 22nd Avenue, a 750,000-gallon tower on Main Avenue South and 20th Street South, and the new one on Fourth Street.

“Our job is to look at that system and decide what its future is,” DeBoer said. “The system’s getting old, so there needs to be some replacement consideration.”

“It needs to meet the future demand,” DeBoer said, but before that, planning needs to happen. 

Plans need to be made for a 25- to 30-year window, which is the typical service life of water treatment equipment, DeBoer said. Plans for long-term sustainability of the water source will stretch to 2075, he added.

North water plant

“Looking at the north water plant, it was determined from a structural perspective and from an equipment perspective, that that has really served the city well, but it’s reaching the end of its useful life,” DeBoer said.

It is also located in the flood plain, which is not an ideal place, he added.

“As a result of that, it was decided to retire that facility,” DeBoer said.

The east facility, built in the ’70s, “still has some good life left in it, structurally sound; it does have some features that need to be improved,” DeBoer said.

Existing water quality is very competitive with other communities, DeBoer said. “Quite frankly, it is great water.”

The distribution system was evaluated, he said.

There is a need for a 20-inch line to help with the expansion on the southern side of town, DeBoer said.

“Currently, there’s actually not enough piping to serve the maximum day demand and keep the water tower on South Main in a good operating space,” DeBoer said.

Alternatives

Brian Bergantine is operations director for AE2S. He spoke about the 13 alternatives that were developed and how most were dismissed.

Officials narrowed it down to Alternative 1 with lime sludge ponds.

The plan includes a new 6 MGD (million gallons a day) water treatment plant on 34th Avenue, “what we call Site B” and renovation of the 4 MGD East Water Treatment Plant to upgrade the parts that are still viable.

Phase 1 will have a projected cost of $40.5 million, and Phase 2 will have a projected cost of $13.5 million, for a total project cost of $54 million.

Phase 1 will include wellfield expansion, new raw water lines supplied to 34th Avenue, the construction of a new 6 MGD water treatment plant at 34th Avenue, construction of new lime sludge ponds on 34th Avenue, and finished water lines for 16-inch water mains.

Phase 2 will include the 4 MGD water treatment plant, the lime sludge forcemain, and the finished water main to 20th Street South water tower.

Funding approaches

Bergantine explained the projected funding approaches.

“The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program is one of the most viable options for this,” he said.

That would mean getting a loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Program for a 30-year payback period. Interest rates now are at 2.25%.

Bergantine explained the rate impacts for residential and commercial customers. The water rate would increase 3% annually as projected in the Capital Improvement Plan, he said.

Bergantine said the preliminary design of the new raw water and finished water transmission pipelines would begin in October. Bidding on the new pipelines is scheduled for March 2022.

The preliminary design of the new 6 MGD water treatment plant would start in July. Bidding for the new facility will be conducted in March 2022. Construction would run from April 2022 to June 2024.

Council comments

Councilor Nick Wendell asked if they could capture federal dollars for this project, instead of relying on the state funding.

Witt promised they will take a “strong look” at every opportunity.

“We don’t want to miss opportunities to capitalize on that,” Witt said, adding they’d like to get grant money for the project.

Wendell asked how familiar they were with the state water funding and if federal dollars directed to the fund could impact interest rates or the amount the city would have to pay back.

As the plans are developed, you could see more dollars funneled into areas like the state revolving fund, Bergantine said. In the past, it has included principal forgiveness, he added.

Councilor Joey Collins asked if construction will affect water flow.

There will be “short cut-over periods,” when they transfer the water flow from one source to the other, but “we’re working on keeping the water supply live so we’re not down for any significant amount,” Witt said. “So the impact should be minimal” in general, but the area around 34th Avenue could be substantially impacted.

Councilor Leah Brink asked when they anticipated Phase 2 would be completed.

“We’ll have some latitude on that,” Witt said, adding it could be five to 10 years. “The East Water Plant is a good functioning plant at this point. We’re not being pushed from an operational standpoint.”

Besides a potential rate increase and traffic disruption during construction, is his team aware of any other objections from the public or other barriers, Brink asked.

Witt anticipated people questioning or objecting to the amount of money the project will need, but he hasn’t heard any yet.

“I don’t see the rate impact being a major shock – 3%,” he said.

Councilor Patty Bacon asked where Brookings sits in comparison to other cities with municipal water rates. She’s worried about families that “don’t have a lot of resources.”

“Our water rates are lower than other communities, as we sit right now,” Witt said, adding the 3% raise probably won’t put Brookings into a higher-than-average rate.

On the wastewater side, Brookings is a little above average. Overall, “we kind of average out,” Witt added.

Councilor Ope Niemeyer mentioned Brookings sells water to Aurora, which is growing, and that was taken in consideration. He recalled when Bel Brands came to town, the city had to recalibrate to find out if the water system could handle it.

City Manager Paul Briseno pointed out the rates are more aggressive with the more water that’s used. With a new plant being built, will the rates still be structured like that, to encourage residents to be good consumers of the water, he asked.

“That’s a discussion to be had yet,” Witt said, but the most stressed period is lawn watering and explained how it affects water usage overall.

“BMU has done a phenomenal job in extending the life of the current water plant,” Briseno said.

Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.