About the Project

The Town owns and manages the community’s water system which includes over 23,000 feet of water mains ranging in sizes from 2-inch to 8-inch and being made of asphalt cement (AC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).  The majority of the water piping is town is AC piping that has caused recurring pipeline ruptures. There is also over 14 miles of PVC transmission line that transports water from the springs 3 miles south of the Town of Square Butte to Geraldine.  Recent improvements to the water system include the development of the springs in the 1980s, the upgrade of the treatment equipment in 2002, and the construction of a concrete storage tank in 2005.

The Town needs to address the following overall water system issues:

• Geraldine has over 12,000 feet of undersized AC water mains (<6-inch) that have known issues of leaking and tendencies of rupturing.
• Many of the valves and hydrants in Town do not function properly and leave the community susceptible to fire.
• The elevated steel tank in Town and the concrete storage tank south of Town require maintenance work to repair the interior.
• The pressure reducing valves along the transmission line have reached the end of their useful design life and experience soil intrusion into the vaults.
• The chlorination treatment building and equipment have reached the end of their useful design life and require replacement. The treatment facility requires confined space access.
• The springs, which are the primary drinking water source to Geraldine, are under review by professional hydrogeologists. The springs collector system may require upgrades.

A PER is needed to evaluate alternatives to identify deficiencies in the distribution system, treatment process, and storage facilities in order to bring the entire water system into compliance with DEQ standards.  The PER will also analyze the deficiencies to determine the priority for improvements to be made to the water system.