City leaders from Lake City and Lanesboro are close to reaching an agreement that would make Lake City the primary water supplier for residents and businesses in the smaller community. Representatives from the two towns and ISG, the project engineers, met earlier this week to continue discussions on the proposal. Senior Water and Wastewater Engineer, Kelly Evans, says many of the details have been finalized, but several big questions still remain.
The Lanesboro City Council began searching for water supply alternatives after they discovered high levels of iron, manganese and arsenic in their existing system. The council is currently renting a temporary treatment unit to keep contaminants at acceptable levels for the time being. However, Evans says it just is not feasible for them to rebuild an entirely new water plant.
On average, a water main will be functional for about 50 years while a treatment plant will need upgrades in about 25 years. As a result, the Lanesboro reached out to Lake City about resolving their water supply issue. Their city council support the idea, and ISG has already identified eight possible routes for the seven-to-eight-mile connection. Lake City’s elevation is about 100 feet higher than Lanesboro, so each route is equally viable from an engineering perspective, but shorter is better to help reduce costs.
While the terms of the agreement have not been finalized, other communities with similar agreements have the smaller community assuming responsibility for the connecting water main. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin as early as this fall, but that is assuming the cities receive the required easements from Calhoun County or private landowners.
