Glendale hears water master plan, officials eye $3.8 million in fixes and staged funding

Tyler Nelson, presenting the town's culinary water master plan, told the Glendale Town Board on Nov. 20 that the town has sufficient water rights for projected demand but faces immediate infrastructure problems that will require capital work and state funding to fix. "You guys have sufficient to meet your demands now and your projected through the next 20 years," Nelson said in his overview.

Nelson said the most urgent short-term problem is an undersized pipe between a spring and the town's tank that is pressurizing the spring and causing overflow. "If we put in a bigger size pipe right there, that gets rid of that problem," he said, arguing the change would reduce the risk of losing the spring or having water daylight into the nearby stream. He also reported the well has a cracked casing and will likely require redrilling; a hydrogeologic study will be needed to assess depth and yield.

On treatment, Nelson recommended installing a sample tap to diagnose intermittent failed tests at the spring before the town considers system-wide chlorination. "There's a decent chance that they come back and they mandate that, but for right now, I think just starting with the sample tap would be the preferred and cheaper option," he said.

Nelson gave a high-level cost estimate: roughly $3,800,000 to complete all recommended projects, including a new tank, two additional pressure-reducing valves (PRVs), pipeline work and a redrilled well. He said a smaller package focused on the tank and main pipe connections would run about $2.75 million. "Because of the deficiency of the Berryville Hill pressures and the well potentially ... we have to go for those two big projects," Nelson said, describing how the state assigns IPS points that influence funding priority.

On funding, Nelson said the town has an application pending with the Division of Drinking Water (DDW) and noted recent rounds have trended toward loan-heavy packages (roughly 70/30 or 77/23 loan-to-grant). He told the board DDW's limited funds make pursuing a staged approach and other funding partners advisable.

Nelson also recommended longer-term distribution upgrades, such as upsizing a long stretch of 6-inch pipe along the highway to 8 or 10 inches to double fill flow and substantially improve fire flow (he estimated potential flows in the 650'700 gpm range depending on pipe size). He said the master plan will document those options to help the town compete for grants.

Board members and Nelson discussed procurement options for pipe purchases and the need to survey potential tank sites. Chair reported conversations with landowners Billy Spencer and Wayne Cox about possible tank locations; Spencer is unlikely to donate land and one candidate site will require a survey to ensure stability. Nelson said he will supply drawings and prints for the proposed pipe work and remain available for construction oversight.

Next steps: finalize the last outstanding item, submit the master plan to the state to secure IPS points, pursue a staged funding strategy (targeting the tank/pipe package first), and complete site surveys and hydrogeologic testing before committing to the full scope.