Humboldt and LaHarpe will receive a boost from the state as they embark on upcoming water-related projects.
Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday that Humboldt will receive $3 million for its upcoming water system upgrade, while LaHarpe can expect $750,000 for its sewer lift station replacement project.
Twenty-four weather project grants and 39 technical assistance were awarded to 70 communities and special districts across the state, totaling about $26 million.
The news was welcome relief to both communities, who also are relying upon USDA loans and/or grants to fund the rest of their projects.
Humboldt plans to spend $13 million or more to replace nearly 20 miles of aging water lines — some that date back to the early 20th century — as well as refurbishing the city’s three water towers, and to do some improvements to the water plant.
City Administrator Cole Herder said the state grant will ensure Humboldt will be able to do the entire project without worrying about having to scale back the project.
That had been a growing concern, he explained, because the original funding mechanism the city reached with the United States Department of Agriculture about two years ago — a $9.5 million, 40-year USDA loan, and $3.493 million in grants — were most likely going to be insufficient because of inflation, and the prospect of tariffs raising costs even more.
“What the USDA had been telling us was they were concerned about a significant overrun on costs,” Herder said. “This allows us to go ahead and finish without having to go back.”
Water leaks have been a persistent, and costly, nuisance to the city for years.
Herder said the city has repaired 292 water leaks over the past 10 years — more than two a month.
“When you go down to put a clamp on a broken line, and you dig a hole and there’s four or five other clamps, it tells you that your pipes are so fragile now,” Herder said.
In addition, some mains are allowing less water to flow through because of years of mineral build up.
The polyvinyl chloride water lines should fix that.
Of note, the three water towers have been in need of repairs — sandblasted to the bare metal, and equipment inside the tanks either repaired or replaced – since Herder became city administrator more than 10 years ago.
The improvements also will allow city crews to read water meters electronically, to the point the city will be able to detect quickly if a customer has a water leak, “maybe within hours instead of a month,” he said.
