Town Hall meetings scheduled for water improvement project

Two Town Hall meetings will be held to discuss proposed improvements to the Wellman water system. The meetings are being held at different times to allow for more people to attend. It is not necessary to attend both meetings. The meetings will be held Saturday, December 6, at noon and Monday, December 8 at 7 p.m.
The public is invited to attend to voice their opinions and concerns on the water system. Each session will start with a brief presentation summarizing the need for water facility improvements and then an open forum where water customers can provide feedback and ask questions.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has provided notice to the City that the existing public drinking water system is in violation of two primary drinking water standards. The first concern is based on elevated concentrations of radium being found in the water supply. Radium is a known carcinogen (cancer causing agent). Second, water quality analysis has identified elevated nitrite concentrations which can have negative effects on infants. The City will be implementing changes to the water system to address the IDNR’s concerns.
The City hired Howard R. Green Company from Cedar Rapids to address the water quality concerns and evaluate treatment alternatives. HR Green has assessed the water quality and observed that in addition to the primary drinking water standards not being met, several secondary drinking water quality standards are also not being met for approximately five times the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended level of hardness, three times the EPA’s recommended level of total dissolved solids, and up to eight times the EPA’s recommended level of sulfates.
The three leading alternatives the City is considering to address these issues are:
1. Connect to Rural Water and abandon the existing wells and water treatment plant;
2. Improve the existing water system with treatment to address just the primary drinking water standards (radium and nitrite); and
3. Improve the existing water system with treatment to address the primary and secondary drinking water standards (radium, nitrite, hardness, total dissolved solids, and sulfates).
HR Green has considered several different treatment alternatives and submitted a draft report with recommendations to the City. Copies of the draft report are available for review at the City Hall in advance of the meeting.
Each of these alternatives has a cost. Regardless of which option is selected to address these noncompliance issues, all water customers will be affected by the decision in terms of increased water rates. Consequently, the City Council is holding these town hall meetings to receive public input and answer questions you might have. We urge you to attend one of these meetings. The meetings will be televised on WATV channel 18.