City of Rexburg looks to upgrade water system

The city of Rexburg announced on Wednesday night the finding of its Water Facility Planning Study. The city took a close look at their water supply, water storage, and their distribution system and found their water system is in pretty good shape, but could be insufficient as more people move to the area.

“We have excellent quality of water,” said Public Works Director John Millar. “Generally, our water system is found to be in good condition for current use. However, as growth continues into the future, there are areas that could be improved.”

As the city continues to double in population every 10 years and Brigham Young University-Idaho enrollment numbers increase, officials look to add a new well, larger water lines, booster pumps and a 2.5 million gallon reservoir near Madison High School.

“Our big improvements were done in the 70s but a lot of our lines are in good shape. Some of our smaller lines, the gallon lines, are corroding, and we’re finding that we’re having to do a lot of repairs,” said City Engineer Keith Davidson.

City officials said residents did not present any major concerns or opposition toward the estimated $11 million project.

“It’s a direct coloration to the rate fees, and so it’s good to have that public input as well,” said Davidson .

Officials said the upgrades would prevent issues within the current system and prevent major water line failures. They said it would also increase regulated fire flows throughout the city for better fire containment. The city hopes to have plans completed by 2016.