The Milford City Council is making plans to use the balance of its funding to replace additional watermains this summer.
City Clerk Jeanne Hoggins said the council on April 7 discussed seeking bids for watermain replacement along F Street and possibly including portions of E Street and Park Avenue, depending upon the cost of the work.
In recent years, the city has leveraged a state revolving loan with county-designated American Rescue Plan Act funds and its own ARPA funds to replace watermains from First Street to Highway 6/Fifth Street between Elm and F streets.
The city will now seek bids for the second phase of watermain replacements, but will pursue work only on the portion their funds – which are around $2 million – will allow once bids are in.
“We will get done what we can get done,” she said.
Hoggins said April 15 that they have received notice from the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment that their plans have now been reviewed, which allows the bidding to begin.
The council also addressed recent complaints of brownish water coming from the taps, which Hoggins said is common as the weather warms and people use more water, stirring up sediment that settled in older waterlines over the winter.
The city advises people to turn on their taps and flush toilets to flush the sediment out. There is no health hazard, Hoggins said.
The sediment occurs because the city’s water is high in iron and magnesium and passes through older pipes and watermains.
“It is part of our corrosion control through the state,” Hoggins said.
She said Mayor Patrick Kelley had someone from the state attend the council meeting in case questions arose about the water, but only one resident addressed the council about the brown water.
Two other water-related actions were taken at the recent meeting.
The council approved a maintenance agreement for cleaning and other work on the city’s 23-year-old water tower and hired summer employees for the municipal pool.
Also at the council’s April 7 meeting, a proclamation of April 26 to May 2 as National Apprenticeship Week was approved, and Kelley will attend a Southeast Community College open house on May 1 to present the proclamation.
