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Pottawattamie supervisors hear update on Pioneer Trail pipeline, Avoca plant power upgrades and a request on a 2022 forgivable loan
Summary
Rural water managers told the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors that the Pioneer Trail pipeline has reached substantial completion, the system can deliver up to about 2 million gallons per day, and staff asked the board to consider forgiving a $300,000 forgivable loan made in 2022; no formal forgiveness decision was taken.
Tom Coleman, general manager, updated the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors on the Pioneer Trail pipeline, temporary booster pump operations and conservation posture for the Avoca treatment plant on Tuesday.
Coleman said the engineering firm certified substantial completion for the Pioneer Trail pipeline in mid-June after the contractor and verifier completed contract requirements. "We can push over close to 2,000,000 gallons of water a day down that pipeline," Coleman said, adding that only one individual connection was turned on immediately and most new homes in the project are not yet ready to connect.
The update included operations details about the Avoca treatment plant and how water from Council Bluffs is being integrated. Coleman said the system is pumping roughly 150 gallons a minute through the temporary booster station into the Avoca system, which he estimated equates to about 224,000 gallons per day delivered from Council Bluffs. He described recent changes to plant power infrastructure and a short planned outage while MidAmerican Energy completed a power switchover intended to allow completion of planned plant upgrades.
Coleman also told supervisors the booster and piping adjustments have resolved earlier air-pocket issues and that the system had sufficient pressure for service. He said plant operations were briefly shut down for hours over consecutive days because demand was low and predicted the county might be able to downgrade its conservation posture by the end of the week once the power transition was completed.
On financing, Coleman said the rural water entity had been given a $300,000 forgivable loan in 2022 and that, by agreement, the developer had requested the county formally invoice them and that the entity was asking the board to "consider the forgivable loan agreement" and whether to forgive the outstanding portion. The board did not take a final action on forgiveness during the meeting; Coleman said he would review the original agreement with staff and return with any formal request paperwork or clarification.
Supervisors asked technical questions about piping connections between Tower 5 and Tower 6, system pressures, and the remaining punch list for Pioneer Trail. Coleman said rain and weather had delayed final seeding and punch-list landscaping but that most cleanup (brush and stump removal) was scheduled and that construction punch-list items could be completed within the contract window.
Why it matters: the pipeline and plant upgrades affect water availability and conservation posture for parts of Shelby County and northern sections of Pottawattamie County. The update clarified capacity and near-term operational changes, and a loan-forgiveness request flagged a future financial decision for the board.
The board did not vote on loan forgiveness at the meeting; staff committed to follow up with the original agreement and to bring any formal forgiveness request back to the board for action.
