BERLIN – Water will be the next major improvement tackled by the town of Berlin after improvements to the Berlin sewage plant are completed in late 2010.
“Water is the next big thing. We have to tackle the big things first. I don’t want to do Band-aids,” said Berlin Mayor Gee Williams.
The town needs to build a west side water tower to ensure that water pressure levels remain high enough.
“There is simply only one solution and that is a new water tower. That’s the bottom line,” said Williams.
Paying for that new water tower is one of the challenges facing the town after the wastewater plant improvements and expansion are completed. The cost of a new west side water tower has been estimated at $1 million.
There are ways to pay for a water storage structure, Williams said, who has been researching those resources. He could not say whether impact fees would be used or whether new developments would be required to pay more for water infrastructure, an idea floated in the past.
“Once you decide something has to be done, a solution can be found,” said Williams.
Complaints of poor water pressure on the west side of town have persisted since at least 2003, although complaints have fallen off in the last few years since the town water and wastewater department made improvements within the water infrastructure.
“There were some dead ends that created some water pressure problems. We have resolved some of the problems by looping,” said Water and Wastewater Director Jane Kreiter. “The looping has helped.”
Remaining water pressure problems, Kreiter said, are largely due to in-ground lawn irrigation systems in the bigger new houses in the west side developments.
While Berlin does need a new water tower to maintain water pressure on the west side of town, the town is not hurting for water.
“We do have enough water. We have 450,000 gallons of water in the air, which is 24 hours of usage,” Kreiter said.
Berlin is facing several major improvements initiatives over the next several years.
The town has to prioritize major projects, said Williams, which is why a new capital improvement plan is being prepared.
“The wastewater had to be number one. Water should be right there with it,” Williams said. “They’re complementary components. They’re part and parcel of the same key services to residents. Right behind is stormwater.”