Officials Explore Options For Wastewater

Goodman officials plan to have smoke-testing and rate-evaluation studies conducted to explore fixing some wastewater issues in town.

Goodman officials are taking a closer look at the inflow and infiltration of the wastewater treatment plant and recently met with Rural Development representative Bruce Hively to discuss various options for improvement.

Some of the main lines are old and cracked, and problems arise when it rains and water gets into the lines. Then, the wastewater treatment plant has to treat that as if it’s raw sewage, said Goodman city supervisor David Brodie.

The rain and process add a lot more inflow to the plant.

“It’s a wet-weather problem,” Brodie said.

Officials are working with a wastewater treatment plant that opened in 1991. However, the city’s original sewer lines were put into place in 1968, Brodie said.

It’s those older lines that are causing problems, he added.

Crews have conducted smoke tests in the past. Upcoming tests, however, will provide an updated synopsis of the issues.

Crews also will conduct some camera studies as well.

The work will be conducted through the Missouri Rural Water Association.

In moving forward, Goodman officials also hope to crunch some numbers and learn more about the financial side of fixing some problems.

Hively had suggested such a rate study would help Goodman officials review their rates in comparison with other small towns. He also suggested that an asset replacement schedule and a rate study could help officials line list how much projects will cost, how much it will take to replace some of the lines each year and build that into the cost.

Increasing sewer rates could help pay for the problems. Hively said at the meeting that Goodman’s sewer rate is relatively cheap in comparison to a lot of other nearby cities.

Funding is available for the work. Hively mentioned that loans from the Department of Natural Resources, state and federal programs, other loans and Community Development Block Grants are all options to pay for any comprehensive work.

Brodie said officials are working on the project and hope to make repairs.

“We ask residents to bear with us, and we will do the best we can,” Brodie said.