New water flow will soon come to Reform
REFORM, ALA. (WCBI) – Contractors are already working at the water system site, knowing new additions will make a difference.
A new well has been dug, and a new tank is coming to the city. Once they are replaced, a water plant will be on this site, and new water lines will be run.
“It has been absolutely aggravating for the residents of Reform, because they never know from one minute to the next if they are going to have water,” said Jonathan Bonner, Vice President of Insite Engineering for Tuscaloosa Operations. “The schools will take in the morning, and suddenly they will have to dismiss because they do not have water for the kids.”
Reform Mayor Melody Davis said, $1.5 million is paying for the line replacement, and the city has about 13 million for the entire project.
Davis said, All of this provides some hope for citizens.
“It provides reliability,” said Davis. “They do not have to worry about kids missing school because we will be brand new.”
The most recent Delta Regional Authority grant money aims to replace parts of the water system that date back to the early 1920s
“This is a grant, and we can not just go full speed ahead; we have to do things decently and in order, and it is a process,” said Davis. “Everything has to be approved, and each step has to be approved. We have the money, and that is the main thing.”
The new water tank will provide 500,000 gallons of water, and although the process has taken some time, Johnathan Bonner of Insite Engineering says, it is better to do it this way than to make citizens pay more.
“People do not really realize how much money goes into this,” said Bonner. “I did a quick calculation the other day, and if we had decided to do this with town resources, we would have had to increase residents water bill by 81 dollars a month for the next 20 years to do the same thing that the mayor secured grant funding to do.”
The entire project is expected to be completed by August of next year.
