Minnesota Communities Study Aging Infrastructure
Source The Fergus Falls Daily Journal
Municipalities within Otter Tail County, Minn., and other west central portions of the state will require approximately $800 million to upgrade aging water, wastewater and storm water systems over the next 20 years. A study released in 2003 addressed this infrastructure issue, and now West Central Initiative (WCI), Fergus Falls, Minn., plans to conduct a follow-up study, in which the cities of Battle Lake, Brandon and Ottertail have agreed to participate.
"Many of the systems were built in the 1930s with an estimated design life of about 50 years," said WCI president Nancy Straw. "Communities are living on borrowed time."
WCI and Yellow Wood Associates Inc., an independent firm based in Vermont, have contracted to do an inventory and assess participant communities' infrastructure. The firms of Widseth Smith Nolting and Interstate Engineering will also work closely with Yellow Wood in executing this project.
The project is scheduled to wrap up by mid-2008, according to Straw. Battle Lake, Brandon and Ottertail officials will receive individualized reports including alternative options for water, wastewater and storm water issues. WCI will outline the study process on its Web site as a resource for other communities reviewing their infrastructure systems.
"Yellow Wood is helping us plan for the future--20 to 30 years down the road," said Lee Sherman, Ottertail city coordinator. "They're environmentally concerned about things such as storm water runoff. Also, we have [city] water, but we don't have a sewer and we need to plan for that."
Battle Lake Clerk-Treasurer Wanda Berg-Vorgert added: "We in Battle Lake are excited about the pilot project and helping create a template for other towns to use. We're one city among many that struggle with infrastructure. It's hard to be a town of under 1,000 residents and be looking at a multimillion dollar project."
To view the 2003 infrastructure study, visit www.wcif.org and scroll over "publications."
Source: The Fergus Falls Daily Journal
