Underwood Engineering told the Carroll County Commission Dec. 1 that major elements of the town water system contracts are complete but that the village water tank requires further design work and likely structural repair.

The firm said Contract 5 reached final completion Oct. 15 and that a balancing change order will return $155,646.99 from contingency and unused unit quantities. Contract 4 (wells, pump house and tank) is largely complete, the engineers said, with transducers installed and a handful of electrical and SCADA items remaining.

Engineers reported divers’ inspection findings for the 1987 concrete tank: a heavy biofilm on the interior, localized corrosion on influent piping, and a major crack across a hollow‑core plank on the roof. "The recommendation has been to replace the concrete roof because of the structural deficiencies with it now," an Underwood representative said. They proposed temporary shoring and design work over the winter to develop cost estimates.

Underwood recommended several options for longer‑term resilience: coating the interior to extend service life; splitting the existing structure into two bays by finishing a divider wall to allow one bay to be taken offline for cleaning/repairs; or replacing the single tank with multiple buried cisterns. Engineers cautioned each option carries tradeoffs: coatings require good adhesion on a dry base, splitting the tank requires structural verification, and new cisterns would still need to be sited on the hill to maintain system pressure.

The commission asked for design options and cost estimates to be prepared in the near term; engineers said some design work may be accomplished under existing contract funds while structural investigation (including rebar location and record‑drawing work) is completed. Commissioners also asked about security at the tank site; staff noted signage and farm dogs on the site and said additional measures could be discussed.

Next steps: Underwood will prepare design options and cost estimates for the commission to consider in the upcoming budget cycle.