Small Town News

Lawton moves on plan to provide water to Hillside

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The city of Lawton is moving ahead with a plan to begin providing water for residents in the Hillside addition, an area of homes just south of U.S. Highway 20.

The Hillside subdivision was built in the late 1960s and 1970s, and has always been served by a private well. The area is not inside the Lawton city limits, and Lawton does not provide services to that area.

However, working under a state requirement that the water distribution system be upgraded, residents in that subdivision came before the Lawton City Council some months ago to request water service.

A number of things have been considered with the request, and the city council discussed the matter again at their meeting last Tuesday with several of the affected landowners.

The city plans to begin providing water to Hillside from the city's water distribution system. To get the water there, the city will lay a larger water pipe under Highway 20 to serve Hillside and other customers on the south side of the highway. Some of those customers are already inside the city limits, including Char-Mac Assisted Living, and are already served by the city's water system.

For Char-Mac, particularly, it is a critical matter, and Char-Mac owner Jeannine Chartier was present to discuss the issue with the council. The water lines that will deliver the water to Hillside go through the Char-Mac property, and the city has been seeking Char-Mac's approval to run the lines through that property.

While the city could use its power of eminent domain to run the lines there, it has tried to work with the assisted living complex to secure agreements.

Chartier told the council that the concern is that the state-regulated assisted living complex must maintain adequate water pressure at all times in its fire sprinkler system.

If that pressure drops below a certain level, Char-Mac could find itself in violation of the state's requirement for the sprinkler system. So, they have been concerned that the expansion of the water system might lower the pressure available to Char-Mac. She requested that the city assure the assisted living complex that water pressure will be maintained, and if it drops below the state-mandated pressure, that the city will correct the problem.

City engineers, who are planning the project for both Hillside and the city, have been confident that the addition of the Hillside subdivision should not cause any lowering of the system's pressure, and Chartier agreed that the chances of any problems were "remote."

However, if the fire sprinkler system drops below its required pressure, "Char-Mac will have to evacuate our residents, and we could have to upgrade our entire system to meet new fire regulations" that could cost thousands of dollars, she said.

Mayor Jeff Nitzschke said the city has worked closely with engineers and experts who have assured them that the system will not be impacted by the changes, and they "won't cause problems."

City engineer Jerry Steffen said the system will be constantly monitored. He said that pressure within the existing water system fluctuates routinely during the day -- from mornings when many homes are using showers to later in the day when there is lower use.

He said plans are to leave the existing Hillside well operational for at least a year to make sure there are no unexpected problems. If something surfaces, the city will reconnect the old well while it corrects the problem.

"We still believe we need someone to stand behind (the changes), "Chartier told the council. She said that if Char-Mac should lose water pressure it could be catastrophic for the facility.

The council asked Steffen and city attorney Glenn A. Metcalf to work on getting state approvals and property easements ready so work can proceed once it is finally approved.



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© 2011 Moville Record Moville, Iowa. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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