FOR SIX BUILDINGS NORTH OF HWY. 92/EAST OF FOURTH STREET
Some Platte City water customers on the north side of Hwy. 92 east of Fourth Street have experienced discoloration of the water coming out of their taps for quite a long time.
At a meeting last week, the board of aldermen gave approval to a $101,793 project aimed at solving the problem.
Aldermen okayed a resolution awarding a contract to Tunk’s Construction for the replacement of 900 feet of water main in the area generally described as east of Fourth Street on the north side of Hwy. 92.
DJ Gehrt, city administrator, told The Landmark on Friday city officials are not certain when the company will begin work on the project.
City officials say the main replacement will connect to an existing water main on Fourth Street and will terminate at the fire hydrant on the east end of the parcel owned by Martin House Realty, commonly known as the Country Cookin’ parcel.
The existing water main segment is a six inch cast iron main that “is reaching the end of its service life,” Gehrt wrote in a staff report to the aldermen.
The city acknowledges that corrosion in the line has reduced flow and pressure and is causing discoloration of the water provided to the six buildings on this segment of water line.
“Although the discoloration does not impact the safety of the water supply, it does impact the appearance of the water and makes it less palatable as a potable water source,” Gehrt said.
The city has been flushing the line weekly to reduce discoloration, but the flushing only solves the problem temporarily.
The scope of the work is to replace about 900 linear feet of the six inch cast water main with an equal length of six inch PVC water main, Gehrt said. The existing cast iron line will be capped and abandoned in place.
Work will also include replacing one existing fire hydrant, adding one new fire hydrant, reconnecting service to existing customers and replacing two existing valves. The contractor is also responsible for repairing all surface disruption, including repairing damage to existing drive and parking lot surfaces.
Cost for the project will be taken from the city’s water capital projects fund, which has a current balance of nearly $1.8 million.
