Iola will take advantage of federal COVID relief dollars to help refurbish several miles of degraded sewer lines in town.
City Council members unanimously approved City Administrator Matt Rehder’s request to dedicate $800,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for what’s described as “cured in place piping.”
Tack on $200,000 the city already has budgeted, and Iola can lop off a third of the estimated $3 million needed to fully restore Iola’s entire sewer infrastructure system, Rehder noted.
For the past several years, Iola has utilized
CIPP lining, through which crews insert and run a felt lining into a pre-existing sewer line in need of repair. Resin within the liner is then exposed to a curing element to make it attach to the inner walls of the pipe. Once fully cured, the line acts as a new pipeline.
Gas, Water and Wastewater Superintendent Mitch Phillips said the CIPP process can add at least 25 years, and likely longer, to the lifespan of the sewer lines.
Iola already has received $400,000 in ARPA funding, with an additional $400,000 due to the city later this year, Rehder explained.
Both Councilman Carl Slaugh and Mayor Steve French spoke in favor of using the money for such a project.
“It’s a win-win to take care of such a big project instead of having to come out of our income and raise rates,” French said.
“It’s a good way to use the ARPA funds,” Slaugh agreed. “The key is to keep our utilities financially as strong as possible.”
Council members voted, 8-0, to authorize Rehder to send out a request for proposal to companies capable of doing CIPP projects. Rehder’s timeline would have much of the work occurring in 2023.
THE CIPP discussion was part of a multi-pronged discussion involving Iola’s sewers. Before such work can be done, the city must first upgrade its sewer line camera system, at a price tag of $90,975.
Iola’s existing camera, which gives crews a visual look inside the city’s sewer lines to determine which ones need repairing, was purchased in 2007 and has outlived its useful life, Phillips explained.
Rather than buy a new camera, it’s easier and more cost-effective to simply upgrade the existing unit, Phillips continued.
“Everything will be new except for the shell,” Phillips said, adding that buying new would add about $30,000 to the price tag “for something we already have.”
