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Council moves toward phased water upgrades after feasibility study
Summary
After a feasibility study, Foley officials signaled support for a phased plan focusing first on a new well and added storage to address PFAS and storage shortfalls while pursuing federal and state grant funding for a future treatment plant.
The Foley City Council on July 21 heard a feasibility study recommending a phased approach to water-system upgrades, and council members expressed consensus to pursue phase 1 and 2 work while seeking grant funding. Kevin Young, the consultant presenting the study, recommended constructing a new supply well at the Well 5 site (Well 6) and adding redundant storage so the city can take its existing 200,000‑gallon tower offline for rehabilitation.
"Right now, you're serving about 2,700 residents within Foley," Young told the council, explaining that the town relies on three active wells and a single tower and that the current system sequesters iron and manganese rather than removing it. He said the study finds Well 3 approaches proposed EPA PFAS limits and has the highest manganese levels and the most customer staining complaints, prompting the recommendation that the city construct Well 6 and abandon or relegate Well 3 to emergency use depending on funding rules.
Young outlined a three-phase pathway: (1) construct Well 6 and add storage to meet 10‑state storage guidance and relieve pressure on the existing tower; (2) complete near‑term storage and site work; and (3) pursue treatment-plant construction when funding and timing allow. City staff and Council members emphasized moving on phases 1 and 2 as grant opportunities permit and agreed to revisit firm decisioning during the budget cycle. The council asked staff to continue negotiations with funders and to refine cost estimates ahead of upcoming budget deliberations.
The presentation included projected schedules and costs for early phases; Young said the well could be bid and constructed within roughly a year given drilling contractor schedules, and that a water tower might require two construction seasons. The council did not take a final vote on funding tonight but directed staff to pursue the EPA community grant match and continue planning work.
