Wellington will move on building its own water plant

By John Serfustini

In a close decision, with Mayor Joan Powell casting the tie-breaking vote, the Wellington City Council decided last Wednesday to move ahead with plans to build its own drinking water plant.
“I think it’s going to add value to Wellington,” Powell explained in an interview Thursday. The city will not entirely leave the Price River Water Improvement District system.
The mayor explained that the city will probably have to take delivery from PRWID during the winter months. That’s because the city’s holding pond, already in place for the secondary water system, will freeze over.
“We’re not a major user of PRWID now,” she said, “only about 8 percent of PRWID’s water.”
The independent municipal water company is not a new idea in Wellington. Some years ago is was estimated that the city could eventually save about $10,000 per year.
In 2013, the city qualified for US Department of Agriculture Rural Development financing of $3.5 million. That would come as a $925,000 grant and the balance as a 2.75 percent loan, Powell said.