(Orleans)– The Orleans City Council Monday evening approved agreements ensuring the city will have a reliable source of drinking water well into the future. The council approved an interim agreement with the city of Spirit Lake as well as a longer term agreement with Iowa Lakes Regional Water. Mayor Bill Maas says the interim agreement with Spirit Lake will be in place while Iowa Lakes Regional Water adds on to its infrastructure so it can connect to the Orleans distribution system…
“They’re going to be running a supply line to be able to hook up to our current pipes and things and probably have that done during this summer and then by the middle of the summer in 2024 we hope to have everything all completely transferred over. The manager of Iowa Lakes Regional Water is very confident they can do that barring flood, famine, or whatever.”
Maas says that’s why having the interim agreement with the city of Spirit Lake is so important. He adds that there will be no changes in operations while that interim agreement is in effect…
“Pretty much status quo. Iowa Lakes has set up an agreement and we’ve been part of it. But Spirit Lake will be doing the billing during this interim period. As they’re supplying the water, they want to be aware of any new hook ups and things, so the procedure will be probably pretty much the same as it is right now, that to apply for new hook ups and stuff, Iowa Lakes Regional Water will be aware of it, but I think Spirit Lake is going to be involved in the process also.”
Maas adds he knows the process got to be drawn out but he says they wanted to be sure they were doing the right thing…
“I think we’ve had a good working relationship. Things haven’t gone as speedily as I know Spirit Lake would like to have known a lot sooner and I know that I would have liked to have gotten things done a lot sooner, but, you know, as that old saying goes about previous planning, you know, prevents poor performance and we wanted to make sure of that, because it is a serious topic and we really appreciate everybody that’s helped us during this process.”
City officials have said there will be an impact on water rates, but the extent of that isn’t known just yet.
