Vintage pipes to get a modern fix

During Tuesday’s Creston City Council meeting, Creston Waterworks General Manager Steve Guthrie shared updates and plans regarding their waterline project in the uptown district.

Creston Waterworks is looking to replace old waterlines throughout much of uptown Creston, including:

⋅Walnut St. from Fareway west to Sumner Ave.

⋅ Montgomery St. from Cherry St. to Division St.

⋅Division St. from Townline Rd. to Adams St.

⋅Cherry St. from Montgomery St. to Townline Rd.

“They were chosen because of their age,” Guthrie said. “Most of it’s 1890s vintage infrastructure or they have a history of breaking a lot.”

Bidding for the project will take place in December, with an estimated cost of $5.75 million. Guthrie explained that a COVID grant they were awarded will cover “a majority of that installation.”

In addition to the main lines, Creston Waterworks will be replacing lead service lines for nearby homeowners complimentary.

“As part of this project, if you’re a homeowner and you have a lead service line, because our project is disturbing the soil, we will replace the lead service line all the way to the house for homeowners,” Guthrie said. “If it’s already copper, we’ll replace to the shutoff.”

Guthrie said the project will likely take two construction seasons.

“We are going to be in the way for probably two construction seasons. It’s not all going to happen at once. We will have multiple contractors working at the same time,” Guthrie said. “If everything goes well, construction will start in April or May next year. There’s going to be a lot of traffic congestion and things like that that we’ll have to work with the street department to try and keep people from getting too frustrated.”

In other council news...

Council has approved the purchase of a new Chevy for the Creston Police Department, a change from the fleet of Dodges that have caused a number of issues with the mechanic used by the police force.

A contract between the Iowa DNR and the city of Creston to dredge McKinley Lake has been approved. A timeline in the contract ensures the final design plans for the restoration of McKinley Lake must be completed no later than June 30, 2025.

This contract comes after Creston voters approved the city to spend up to $2 million in improvements for the lake in November 2021.