Let's Talk Water - A Minute with City Manager Matt Hall

Good Morning Rawlins,

Last month, the City experienced a water break on a high-pressure transmission line that supplies water to roughly one half of our community. Thanks to a new monitoring and control system installed last year, Water Department staff quickly identified abnormal water loss. Crews located the break on Saturday and worked continuously for 20 hours to replace about 60 feet of twenty-inch line.

Because residents in the affected area conserved water, the City was able to minimize system loss until repairs were completed. Public Works staff - assisted by Parks and Community Relations - worked from Friday night through Sunday morning to restore service while keeping the community informed throughout.

Initial estimates place the cost of this single incident between $21,000 and $25,000.

Unfortunately, water breaks are not uncommon in Rawlins. The Water Department responds to approximately 30 to 40 breaks each year. Averaging roughly $6,000 per incident in labor and materials, these repairs cost the City about $210,000 annually - a pattern that has persisted for nearly a decade. This is not sustainable.

Rawlins' water system stretches more than 45 miles from springs to town to river and includes about 65 miles of in-town infrastructure. The City has taken on major projects over the last few years, completing approximately $4.2M in projects (using $2.3M in Water Funds and $1.9M in Federal and State Grants). This included replacing 10,000 feet of wood stave pipe in the springs, bringing the pretreatment plant online, installing a new monitor and control system, and adopting a comprehensive water plan.

Beginning this summer, the City will undertake two major projects to rehabilitate the fatigued 32-mile transmission line south of town at a total cost of $5.8 million. Through a combination of rate adjustments and internal savings, the City has committed $2.9 million, with the State providing a matching $2.9 million grant.

This work will be followed by improvements to the collection system at the headwaters and, ultimately, the phased replacement of in-town infrastructure including the high-pressure line, water tanks, and water mains. The estimated cost to the Water Enterprise Fund for the remaining Phase I projects in our Master Plan is over $26 million, exclusive of replacements to in-town water mains or ongoing annual operating/maintenance expenses.

Rawlins is a remarkable place to live and work. But as a high desert community, our future depends on a reliable water system. As we begin the budgeting process we will focus on adopting a fiscally conservative budget which accounts for sustaining water rates that reflect the true cost of work, and ensure the City can continue to secure outside funding and tackle these projects over time in a measured and predictable way, with lowest long term cost to the community.

I ask you please keep this in mind as City staff continue addressing these critical infrastructure needs.

Sincerely, Matt Hall

Rawlins City Manager

mhall@rawlinswy.gov

307-328-4500