First, thank you to everyone who conserved over the weekend! Although the Painted Hill Tank did drop to 27%, due to your conservation efforts and the water treatment team’s work, our tank levels are on the rise. The City of Rawlins is sharing updates regarding our water system improvements and funding on most Tuesdays. For all the latest updates, including 8 from last week and 7 from the week before, visit www.rawlinswy.gov/385/5910/Water-News
Infrastructure/Treatment Updates:
- Last Week Update: Due to the construction at the springs, we had turbid water coming into our treatment plant that is not able to be cleaned efficiently. That water was redirected to Atlantic Rim so it would not cause more problems at our treatment plant while we waited for the clear water to be restored. By declaring Limited Water Use over the weekend and not allowing watering of lawns for this week, we are on track to bring tank levels back to normal levels.
- Replacement of 10,000 feet of woodstave pipeline with PVC (Phase 1): This construction project makes the water more turbid than our plant can efficiently treat. As the connections continue through the week, we have additional staff monitoring and pumping at the springs to minimize impacts at the Water Treatment Plant. However, if the water does become turbid, we will route it into the reservoirs. The crew is also finalizing the 150 feet of additional french drains to collect more water in Sage Creek Basin.
- Colorado Water Break on 8/17: The water break on Colorado Street was a result of wear-and-tear due to aging on our in-town cast iron water pipes. Water breaks happen semi-regularly. Our Utilities Division is dedicated to repairing the problems and restoring water as quickly as possible. This particular break was a split/crack that grew into a much bigger hole due it being a high-pressure line. That did affect the amount of water in our tanks. However, this break did not cause the Limited Water Use. Even if this break had not occurred, we would have called Limited Water Use for safety due to the high turbidity of water coming to the plant.
- Grants & State Involvement: We have been in communication with the State of Wyoming. We have received one grant from the state, a State Land and Investment Board (SLIB) Mineral Royalties Grant (MRG) for $675,000. We have also applied for a SLIB ARPA Stimulus Grant in the amount of $7.5 million. The grant will be presented to the SLIB board sometime this winter. If you would like to show your support for this grant you can find more information on their members and meetings at https://lands.wyo.gov/boards/state-loan-and-investment-board. We will share when the date of the hearing is released.
- Water Rates: We have hired Rate Specialist Carl Brown to evaluate and propose necessary rate changes for our water enterprise fund. We expect to post his rate study early next week. Mr.Brown will be presenting at a City Council workshop on September 6th, 2022 at 6:00 pm about his findings and recommendations. The public is encouraged to come and hear the presentation, or to watch remotely on Channel 191 or YouTube. We will also have overflow seating for viewing of the presentation in the City Hall basement. Want to share your feedback on the proposal with Council and Staff? Visit www.rawlinswy.gov/rateinput or call 307-328-4500 ext. 1022 after the presentation.
- Parks & City Watering: Park and other green space watering has been turned off as of August 18th until further notice. We will not water parks the week of August 21st.
- Tanks, Flows, and Storage Data: This week our flow from the Springs/Wells averaged 1.81 million gallons per day. Our community usage averaged 1.81 million gallons per day. Our high-pressure tanks averaged 49% full and our low-pressure tanks averaged 57% full. Full daily data can be found at www.rawlinswy.gov/381/Flows-and-Storage-Data
- Construction Water: If you have a construction project that is in need of water, please call Public Works Director Cody Dill at 307-328-4599.
Original source can be found here.
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