NEW ULM — The raw water line that feeds the wells on the city’s north side will need to be replaced this year after a leak was detected.

New Ulm Public Utility director Kris Manderfeld said this project started as a small problem that turned into a larger issue.

Back in May, utility believed a valve on the raw water line that feeds well water from the north well field to the plant was leaking. Due to flooding and inaccessibility, the valve was unable to be accessed until late July. On Aug. 8, the valve was replaced, but after the replacement, it was determined the valve was not causing the leak.

MR Paving was contracted to dig bore holes along the length of the raw water line and a leak-detecting firm was called in to help identify where the line was compromised.

On Aug. 16, the leak was found to be under the Minnesota River about 15 feet from the bank. This raw water line feeds water from wells 20 and 21 to the treatment plant. The wells currently are offline due to the failure in the pipe. The two wells produce approximately 1,000 gallons per minute when fully functioning, which is about half of the city’s average summer water demand.

Manderfeld said this is a critical piece of infrastructure and needs to be replaced as quickly as possible.

To speed up the process, the Public Utility Commission approved engineering services for the preliminary engineer for the raw water line replacement. The engineering services will be done by Short Elliot Hendrickson for $11,300.

SEH will begin a field investigation, including soil boring coordination, preliminary site visit, topographic survey including river depths and begin regulatory discussions.

Future phases will be developed based on the information gathered from the preliminary phase.

Since the project is located in a flood plain and near the Minnesota River, several regulatory agencies will be involved in the project.

The hope is to fast-track the project and get it completed in the fall. The estimate for raw water line replacement was estimated to exceed $500,000.

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