By Don Steen ~ Staff Writer • [email protected]
Spencer County is often characterized by its close proximity to larger communities. Nowhere is this more evident than the unincorporated community of Reo, which was named as an acronym for Rockport, Evansville and Owensboro. While it sees a fair share of traffic on its thoroughfares, it has a large population all its own, and a water utility to serve them.
Reo Water Inc. was formed in 1964 as a non-profit corporation to provide potable water service to rural areas and small towns between the cities.
“We are not a city, we are not a town, we are an area,” said Plant Manager Mike Webb. “We have 122 miles of line stretching from all of Hatfield to the Rockport City limit and all of Richland to the river. It’s a very, very vast area.”
The corporation derives its water supply from five groundwater wells. The water treatment plant has two filtration units, one original to the 1960’s and one added in the 90’s to help accommodate demand from Hatfield, Eureka, and French Island Marina. Water is pumped to the treatment plant from three separate towers. Webb estimates the system currently handles around 300,000 gallons of water per day on average.
However, like other non-profit water utilities across the country dating back to the Great Society, the original infrastructure is starting to show its age. The original aeration and filtration unit at the treatment plant needs to be replaced, and even its more modern counterpart requires renovation and updating. Multiple high service pumps, chemical feed systems, and electrical components also need to be replaced or repaired, along with other maintenance issues for the treatment plant building itself.
The system’s oldest water tower dates back to 1965, and is at the end of its useful life. Most of the distribution system is in the same boat, with original lines needing to be replaced and upsized.
Fortunately, all of these issues will be remedied in the very near future. For the last six years, Reo Water has been preparing for a three-pronged overhaul of the infrastructure across its service area. Spearheaded by former board president Linda Sturgeon, the utility secured a $12.66 million rural development loan from the United States Department of Agriculture, at an interest rate of 1.125%.
Webb pointed out that the corporation’s application included a hardship provision, which shaved around $400,000 off the total cost of the project. He credited Sturgeon for the successful loan application, and her productive argument that the corporation’s small size warranted some leeway.
“That was a big savings,” said Webb. “It was her pushing and her words that garnered that.”
Sturgeon stepped down from the board in January, but the project is now well and truly underway. A pre-construction meeting was conducted last month, and bidders have been selected for three distinct project divisions.
The first phase entails replacing 32 miles of water lines. Webb noted that this will not require installation of new lines, just a rehabilitation of what is already here. Much of the system is original construction.
“This is not expansion,” he said. “Those 32 miles are nearly 62 years old.”
That phase was bid out to Luttrell and Sons, LLC.
The second phase of the project will see the water treatment plant overhauled. This will include the replacement of the older filtration unit, a rehabilitation of the younger second unit, and general upgrades to modernize operations at the facility in general.
This water treatment plant project was bid out to Deig Brothers Lumber and Construction.
The last phase will see the oldest water tank removed and upgraded from 50,000-gallon capacity to 200,000 gallons. The new tower will be on a new site on County Road 350 West. This project was bid out to Phoenix Fabricators.
Webb said the exact start of construction is not yet set in stone. Contractors are working to gather the necessary material before breaking ground on their respective project divisions. Once things get underway, construction will likely take around 16 months to wrap up.
Needless to say, there may be some interruptions of water service during some phases of the project. These will be posted on the corporation’s Facebook page, but Webb also encouraged customers to sign up for the new Reach Alert service.
“We started that last year,” he said. “It’s free to customers. Any notice we put out you can receive through your choice of text, phone, email, or all three to anybody in your house.”
To sign up, visit www.reachalert.com and select Reo Water, or call the corporation office at 812-649-4901.
While the rural development loan is taking care of a big chunk of the corporation’s older infrastructure, Reo Water is still looking to the future. The other two water towers receive regular inspections to determine how much longer they can remain in use in their current state, and how best to keep them in operation longer.
With a little luck, the three-phase overhaul currently underway should help keep the bulk of Reo Water’s service area in working order for another half century or so.
“We hope for the next 50 years our plant will be able to serve the customer’s needs,” said Webb.
Featured Image: The Reo Water Inc. office building
The Reo Water Tower stands tall and proud in Reo
