WILLIAMS, CA (MPG) – The Williams City Council at their last meeting approved
a water master plan that shows the city is just one minor catastrophe away from being unable to produce the amount of water the city needs.
According to the city’s contracted engineer, Williams must soon construct one
new well and replace deficient pipelines on the west side of town prior to any longterm development occurring.
Laurie McCollum, of Pace Engineering, said Williams currently has two water
wells in operation that are supplying all the city’s water needs, one well under construction, and three wells that have been taken offline for odor and sanding issues.
While the anticipated water needs per person are not expected to change over the next 10 or 20 years, McCollum did recommend the city plan for a 3.5% annual growth rate in water usage.
Because the master plan should be updated every five to 10 years, the city will be able to modify the growth rate accordingly, she said.
“Should the growth rate be a lot higher or lower, we recommend you update it
then,” McCollum told the council at their Nov. 15 regular meeting.
McCollum places the cost for immediate improvement needs to be $12.7 million
(in 2023 dollars) to meet the required fire flows in the newer areas of town, and to replace deteriorating or undersized existing pipelines and fire hydrants on the west side of town.
Another $14.6 million will be needed in near-term improvements to construct
another water well, tank, and pump station, possibly at Husted Road, where further development is anticipated.
To meet future growth, another $13.8 million will be needed to increase water
supplies, strengthen the distribution system to stabilize operating pressures, and increase fire flows as growth occurs.
The City Council, at their Nov. 165 meeting, authorized City Administrator Frank Kennedy, or his designee, to apply to the State Water Resources Board’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund for $27.3 million to plan and design the
immediate and near-term improvements, including construction of the new well, tank, and pump station.
The council approved the $30,000 cost for the funding application be spent from the city’s Water System Impact Fees, which would be reimbursed if a grant for the project is received.
City officials said it was important to act quickly while the state still designates
Williams as a disadvantaged community, making it eligible for state funding.
“The best-case scenario would be 100%,” said Finance Director Rex Greenbaum. “But the most likely scenario would be a 75% percent grant.”
While Williams has been fortunate to get 100% state funding for water projects
in the past, Greenbaum said the city has been reclassified from severely disadvantaged to just disadvantaged, which lowers the percentage the state will likely award Williams in funding for water projects.
Should the city have to finance the 25 percent cash match for the improvements ($6.8 million), the $279,000 annual loan payment would have to be offset by water users with an approximate $12.20 per month rate increase, officials said.
“It’s not going to happen immediately,” Greenbaum said. “If the project started
today and wouldn’t be completed until five years from now, it’s at that point when we would start needing the money to pay it back. It’s when the project is completed that we would need to start paying our loan servicer.”
Councilman Alfred Sellers Jr. said whatever direction the city takes to make
the needed improvements – it will be important that the cost of water improvement projects not create a deficit in the city’s budget.