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Commission briefed on water‑system mapping project and EPA grant steps for Kusa Valley
Summary
Staff said EPA advised that $1 million in community project funding for Kusa Valley Water will require a formal federal grant application and compliance with federal procurement rules; separately staff described a county 'Flow Forward' water‑line mapping project (private GIS for county operational use) and discussed outreach to local districts about data privacy and utility concerns.
County administrator Morgan and staff updated commissioners on two related water topics. First, they said Kusa Valley Water received notice from the EPA that a roughly $1 million community‑project award secured through Congressman Mike Rogers will be administered as a federal grant. Staff warned that the award requires a formal grant application and compliance with federal procurement, reporting and other grant rules; Candace Hill will brief the commission at the Tuesday meeting to discuss next steps.
Second, staff described the Flow Forward initiative to assemble a county GIS of water distribution lines, valves, meters and related infrastructure for county operational use (EMA, economic development, permitting). An intern has begun ingesting data from some local systems; staff stressed that the county intends the dataset to remain in a private, restricted area and not be published broadly. Commissioners and district representatives raised concerns about proprietary data, engineers' ownership of mapping work and district willingness to share details such as valve locations and pumping stations. Staff said they would conduct outreach, explain the purpose (operational planning, emergency response) and limit access to official‑use only.
Commissioners asked staff to continue work on the grant application process and to coordinate outreach to water districts so the county can build the operational map without undermining trust or proprietary relationships.
