As the water line replacement project in the City of Great Bend moves full speed ahead, Interim City Administrator George Kolb says there have been a few “growing pains.”
The estimated $6 million project is replacing water mains that are old, copper, cast iron, and too thin. As the new plastic pipes are installed it is causing more pressure and leaks are beginning to pop up throughout other parts of town as a result.
Kolb noted the City is finding out about some of the obvious leaks, but encourages residents to notify the City if they spot a leak or are having water issues.
George Kolb Audio
Residents can call the city offices at 620-793-4111 or report the concern via the City’s website, greatbendks.net. On the right-hand side of the page there is a tab labeled, “Report a Concern.”
Kolb says water will always find a hole and repairing one pipe that had a leak only pushes the potential problem further down.
George Kolb Audio
At the June 19th Great Bend City Council meeting, on-call engineer Josh Golka said APAC Kansas is ahead of schedule for the project that has until March 2019 to be complete. Golka said the nearly 40,000 linear feet of pipe replacement could be done as soon as late fall or early winter.
In other City Council meeting news from July 2, 2018…
– Kolb reminded the council of the fireworks display at the Great Bend Expo Complex Tuesday, July 3 starting at 10 p.m.
– Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Jan Peters says the City was chosen to participate in a survey regarding workforce development. Local businesses are encouraged to fill out the survey that will identify shortfalls and what type of workforce Great Bend and Kansas needs to be targeting.
– Sanitarian Austin LaViolette says one troubling area of overgrown vegetation that many homeowners forget about are easements. Property owners are responsible to maintenance their alleys so city staff and others can maneuver through if needed.
– The City Council voted 7-1 to officially adopt the ordinance to change the time of the regular City Council meetings to 6:30 p.m. Four of the council members and the mayor were late to Monday’s meeting that started at 6:38 p.m.
– The Council went into executive session for 45 minutes to discuss the review of candidates for City Administrator. No decision or selection was made following the executive session.