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SAWS requests county role to pursue geologic study of Big Goose Canyon slope
Summary
SAWS administrator reported a leaking water main caused by slope instability and said the water authority filed a notice of interest for a geologic study; the study would cost about $27,600 with a local share near $7,000 and may require county or city to administer any hazard-mitigation grant.
Dan Coughlin, SAWS administrator, told the Sheridan County commissioners that a weekend leak in a water main was caused by a slide on a steep hillside near Big Goose Canyon and that the city isolated the leak to restore service.
Coughlin said the city and SAWS are considering rerouting water to avoid repairing a pipeline located on a wet, sliding slope. To gather the information needed for that decision, SAWS submitted a notice of interest for a geologic slide study that would engage a geologist to collect on-site data and evaluate risks and remediation options.
Coughlin said the total estimated cost for the geologic assessment is $27,600, with SAWS's local share estimated at roughly $7,000. He said SAWS has not yet decided whether to proceed; the SAWS board is scheduled to meet on April 9 to make that determination. Coughlin told commissioners SAWS could pay its local share, but because the entity did not file a required hazard-mitigation resolution previously, SAWS may not be eligible to serve as grant administrator for certain mitigation grants. "SAWS has not made a decision about this; they will meet on the ninth and they will decide whether they're interested in pursuing this," he said.
Commissioners asked whether the county could administer such a grant if SAWS cannot. The county attorney (Cameron) told the commission there are no issues with the county administering the grant, and commissioners said they expect SAWS or the city to return if the board approves the study and requests county administration.
Coughlin requested information follow-up for commissioners and said the city was modeling options and planned to reconnect the single affected customer to restore service while isolating the damaged section.
