Last week the City experienced another water main break in Circle Drive.  This break highlighted the importance of the upcoming infrastructure replacement plan the City has for Circle Drive and 6^th Ave.  The Public Works employees were not able to use shut off valves to completely shut off the water supply and had to make the repairs while the line was still live.  Obviously this is not the ideal way to do this, especially this time of year, but they did a great job and didn’t have to interrupt service to the rest of the community.  It was determined that this water line was installed in the late forties, which makes it over sixty years old!  By replacing the infrastructure on these two roads and installing the proper shut off valves we will not only be upgrading the water supply on those streets but also improving the effectiveness of the entire system. 

Wellman is certainly not unique in having aging infrastructure, most small towns across Iowa are in the same situation.  We have been addressing some of these issues and we will continue to be proactive in replacing our infrastructure.  Even though it is more expensive to replace entire sections of water lines than to just patch small areas, it is much more expensive in the long run to continue to do multiple small repairs to a line (which you will eventually have to replace anyway).  We are working on different grant opportunities to help reduce the cost to our residents and allow us to get more projects completed.  We should hear some time in March about the grant we applied for to help complete the Circle Drive and 6^th Ave projects, along with replacing about 40 fire hydrants throughout town.