‘People Don’t Want to Drink White Water’

The La Grange City Council met with department heads in a budget workshop meeting on Monday, June 1.

City Manager Jack Thompson said he wanted the Council to hear “unfiltered” funding requests from each department before he and the Council begin formulating the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Thompson said the City will not be able to fund all of the requests. He said some items will probably have to wait for future years.

In the water department alone, Water Superintendent Andy Blaha said the City needs to plan on replacing Water Well G. He estimated the cost at a staggering $2.5 million. Blaha said Well G produces a decent supply of water that’s perfectly safe to drink. However, he said the water from that well suffers from turbidity issues – it looks white rather than clear.

“People don’t want to drink white water,” he said.

Blaha said the City treats the water to make it look more appealing, but it costs more than what customers pay for it. Blaha recommended drilling a much deeper well on the west side of town to replace it. He said a new well will also increase the City supply to keep up with growth.

In addition, Blaha said about 60 percent of the City’s water mains are old cast iron pipes. And about 80 percent of the sewer lines are old clay pipes. He recommended a more aggressive replacement program.

Besides Blaha, the Council heard from the street department, electric department, parks, library, police and all the other departments that make up the City government. The Council listened to each one but they took no immediate action. They’ll now begin formulating the budget and must finalize it before the end of September. The new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.