SIX BUILDINGS AND SEVERAL BUSINESSES AFFECTED
Some Platte City water customers on the north side of Hwy. 92 east of Fourth Street have experienced extremely discolored water coming out of their taps for quite a long time.
Reason for the water quality issues is an existing water main segment that is a six inch cast iron main “reaching the end of its service life,” former interim city administrator DJ Gehrt wrote in a recent staff report to the aldermen.
Construction on a project that city officials say should solve the problem is scheduled to begin soon, a timeframe described in city documents as “mid-September.”
City officials have said the water is safe to consume while admitting the discolored water is very unappealing to the eye.
At a meeting in April, the board of aldermen gave approval to a $101,793 project aimed at solving the problem.
Aldermen okayed a resolution awarding a contract to Tunks Construction out of Cameron 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.
Among customers along the line are multiple businesses, including a dental office, a hair salon and the Platte County Farm Bureau, in what is known as the Glenn Building north of Hwy. 92.
In the meantime, city workers have been flushing the line weekly to try to keep the water as clear as possible.
“This project is to correct water quality issues in businesses in the 500 block of Branch. We have increased our flushing frequency to weekly,” Kenny Kellison, public works director for Platte City, says in a staff report.
“Tunk has adjusted the start date to the middle of September,” Kellison wrote in a staff report in advance of the Sept. 8 public works committee meeting.
City officials say the replacement of the water main 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, which will soon be home to The Cove restaurant.
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 wrote in a staff report several months ago.
While the city has been flushing the line weekly to reduce discoloration, 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.
Funds for the project will be taken from the city’s water capital projects fund, which has a current balance of nearly $1.8 million.
