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The Linden Utility Board received reports from Stan Nelson of Nelson & Company detailing the results from the grant-funded water system and sewer system evaluations. He presented plans for improvements based the reports, and the board agreed to move forward with the sewer system at the meeting, with an updated cost estimate for the water system improvements to be brought to the board soon.

Nelson noted a major problem with sewage backing up into a creek, and suggested rectifying by replacing portions of the existing gravity sewer. He also listed rehabilitating six manholes and plugging five existing sewer clean-out connections or abandoned sewer connections as suggested projects.

“We studied the whole system and mapped the whole sewer system and divided it up into drainage areas to each of the individual pump stations so we could look at the extraneous flows a little better,” Nelson said.

The total for the project is expected to be $1.4 million.

During the water system report, Nelson first recommended adding another well to save expenses from purchasing water from other sources.

“You’ll be able to save $50,000 a year with your own well, so that would more than pay for it,” he said.

Additional recommendations included redoing a booster pump at the Uniontown station, expanding the water system to parts of County Road 5 and using radio read water meters.

Though Nelson is reworking the cost estimate for the water system project before it can move forward, $1.7 million was a projected number given to the board.

Nelson said the water system improvements could likely be 55 percent funded by a grant and the sewer system improvements 75 percent funded. The additional funding would come from a loan.

Nelson estimated that the current bidding and construction timeline would result in the first payment not being due until 2024. By that time, the utility board will have completed payments for the current loan that helped fund the lagoon project, meaning that the board will not see a rise in monthly expenses as the new payments will take the place of the old payments in the budget.

Nelson recommended approving the sewer project at the meeting because other steps in the project will likely move slowly. The utility board agreed to move forward with the sewer system improvements, and Nelson said he would bring the revised cost estimate for the water system improvements within a couple of months.

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, March 4 issue of the Demopolis Times.)