Vienna staff present water main replacements, well rehabs and $7.88 million estimate to extend water to former WVU site

Mike, a utilities staff member, reviewed current water projects and longer‑term needs, saying Well 9 rehabilitation is complete and that staff plan a sequence of tank inspections through the spring.

He told the board the well screens and interiors are being cleaned and that rehabilitations are normally scheduled every seven years but, "we're pushing about 10 years," for some wells. Mike said Well 9 is back online and that the work increased flow by roughly 100 gallons per minute.

On distribution mains, staff proposed replacing small‑diameter galvanized water lines and adding reinforcement connections where "dead end" mains limit circulation. Mike identified Sixteenth Street as a high‑break location with "20 something breaks in our last five years," and he recommended upsizing that line to reduce future breaks and to tie in mainline extensions from Wells 7 and 8 to improve system resilience and firefighting flows.

The presentation included a service study for the former WVU/OVU site and a proposed elementary school. Mike said he asked staff to model a worst‑case buildout; the report presented a water extension estimate of $7,880,000 that included a new elevated tank (document text: "a new elevated tank of 5,000 gallon capacity"). He said the city can serve the school with the existing sewer and booster station if the developer/owner installs an on‑site booster for fire protection, but the full extension would link the area to the city's trunk mains for broader development.

Staff discussed funding options and the effect on loan/grant eligibility. Mike explained that state funding programs evaluate rates as a percent of median household income and that Vienna's current rate indicator is about "0.226%" (presented by staff) while a program cutoff cited in the presentation is 0.4%; he said that to qualify for more favorable loan terms the city either needs to increase rates or include more project work to change the funding calculation. "If you do all of the projects at once, you get a better deal on the money than if you do fewer projects individually," he said.

Mike said the city has discussed pursuing loans, grants and private borrowing if grant eligibility is not met; he noted that bank borrowing would likely carry higher interest rates than a state loan/grant package.

Ending: Staff asked the board to consider prioritizing mains and stormwater projects when preparing next year's budget; no action to obligate city funds for the WVU extension was taken at this meeting.