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Council hears Herman Road water main/tower plans and water-quality projects including manganese and arsenic treatment
Summary
During the FY2026 budget review, staff described multi-year water projects: Herman Road water-main extension and water-tower planning, East Susitna booster/tower upgrades, and treatment projects to address manganese and arsenic in local wells; staff said design work is first step and identified estimated design and build ranges.
City staff briefed the council about several proposed water projects included in the FY2026 capital plan: a Herman Road water-main extension tied to a planned Herman Road water tower, upgrades at the East Susitna system (including booster capacity and arsenic treatment), and manganese-treatment work for wells in the Ranch area.
Staff said the Herman Road water-main extension is a substantial project (roughly 1,800 linear feet was discussed) and that the total cost estimate for the extension had been modeled at about $1.8 million; staff said the city is seeking external funding and would layer the city’s CIP funds and interconnect funds as match where appropriate. The goal is to create loops and firefighting capacity and to support new commercial development that requires adequate fire flow.
On water quality, staff described manganese issues in Bumpus-area wells and said the city expects to design an on-site treatment system. Staff proposed using existing FY2025 balances plus a FY2026 appropriation to complete design work (combining $40,000 carried forward with a $100,000 FY2026 request to produce a design) and said market research indicates an implementation cost on the order of $500,000 for the treatment equipment and installation. Staff said manganese treatment would allow increased use of existing wells that currently are throttled for water-quality reasons.
Staff also said the East Susitna system requires booster upgrades and that arsenic-treatment work has been studied; the city recently received an arsenic-treatment report and will evaluate how arsenic-treatment approaches align with booster and tower upgrades so projects can be coordinated. Council members asked whether manganese or arsenic work could be delayed; staff cautioned that some residents are experiencing appliance damage and that design and procurement lead times suggest near-term planning is warranted.
Staff also briefly described a planned upgrade to the city’s bulk-water point-of-sale system (payment interface for people buying bulk water) to replace an aging, non–PCI-compliant system. Staff said the upgrade cost is estimated at $75,000 and that gross revenue from the bulk-water station was cited as $88,000 in materials presented to council, making it a candidate for near-term replacement for security and customer-service reasons.
No appropriations were finalized; staff will return with design-level estimates and recommended sequencing for capital projects.
