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Wastewater plant, elevated tank and pump-station upgrades dominate Mooresville utilities capital plan
Summary
Water-resources and engineering staff briefed the board on utilities capital spending: a $253 million wastewater-plant expansion on the horizon, several multi-million-dollar rehabilitation and capacity projects, and work to stay ahead of rate-setting and borrowing timing.
Allison Craft, the town’s water resources director, and engineering staff presented the utilities capital improvement plan and a list of high-priority projects that staff said will require multi-year funding and design work.
Craft said the town has roughly $34 million already spent, encumbered or reserved for utilities capital through FY 2025 and another roughly $44 million planned in the next five years — figures that do not include the wastewater-project expansion. She described a wastewater-plant expansion that staff have estimated at about $253 million and characterized that as a major, multi-year enterprise project.
Craft said the town completed a five-year utility rate study in March 2023 that contemplated gradual annual increases (about 5% per year at that time) to fund expected capital needs. She said the wastewater project will require an updated rate study and detailed engineering to understand the timing and magnitude of future rate changes.
Key projects and timing presented by staff: - Wastewater treatment plant renovations and capacity work: contract awarded; preconstruction underway; estimated completion November 2026 for the rehab phase. - Shepherd’s elevated storage tank: estimated construction cost in the neighborhood of $7.5 million for a 1,000,000-gallon tank; staff expects to advertise for bids this spring and anticipates easement and coordination issues with a fire-rescue site. - Reeds Creek Pump Station replacement: large pump station by flow; project received grant funding and is expected to bid under Division of Water Resources processes with a construction start targeted for summer/fall 2025 and a two-year construction schedule. - Mazeppa parallel water line and South Iredell pump-station improvements: design work is advancing; staff expect construction to begin in late summer 2025 once easements and erosion-control permits are secured.
Craft said an updated utility-rate study will be completed in May 2025 to incorporate new wastewater-plant cost estimates and that timing of projects and rate decisions aligns favorably with the town’s borrowing capacity because several utility debt obligations diminish in the 2029–2030 timeframe.
Ending: Board members asked staff to continue pursuing grants, easement coordination and timely permitting and to return with the updated rate-study results and more detailed cost estimates as they become available.
