Solon agrees to supply safe water to nearby development

SOLON - The roughly 40 residents of Gallery Acres West now have a solution to their quest for clean drinking water.

On Wednesday, the Solon City Council voted 4-1, with member Lauren Whitehead opposed, to allow the nearby housing development - located near Lake Macbride Golf Course and home to 14 residences - to connect to the city's water plant by means of a roughly 3-mile-long pipe.

'I'm clearly pleased with the council's decision,” said Mark Steiger, president of the Gallery Acres West homeowners association. 'Now the real work begins.”

That work includes drafting specifics for the housing development's plans to build an 8-inch water pipe to the nearby city of about 2,500 residents - including the finances, water rate structure and timeline surrounding the project.

Untreated, the water in Gallery Acres West's well contains arsenic levels at about 20 parts per billion, or twice the safe threshold identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

When the level was deemed a matter of public safety, the state granted the homeowners association a 75 percent forgivable, $1.04 million loan for the project. The association would be responsible for the remainder of the loan, which comes with a 1.75 percent interest rate.

While a water rate structure for Gallery Acres West has not been finalized, city officials have said they would not pursue a project that burdens city residents with the added cost.

In recent years, Gallery Acres West fall out of compliance with federal rules on arsenic levels in the groundwater.

The homeowners association earlier this year reached out to the Johnson County community with hopes of connecting to its municipal plant.

Discussion on the pipe project reached heated debate at times earlier this year, with some residents arguing the city was morally obligated to help while others expressed reluctance to connect the water supply to a housing development outside city limits.

Wednesday's discussion was relatively light by comparison.

'There's been lots of comments, lots of feedback,” said council member Lynn Morris. 'I think the City Council has grown going through this. It's been a very anxiety-producing, emotional objective, but those are all good things.”

Whitehead, the lone council member against the project, said her vote was for the several residents who raised concerns over the proposal, namely over the cost and added strain it could put on the city water plant.

'I still have a lot of the concerns about the scope and the timing,” she said after the vote. 'I think it's ambitious.”

At an 8-inch diameter, the pipe would have capacity to take on additional housing developments near Gallery Acres West. Wells in some of those developments also have tested positive for arsenic.

However, Wednesday's resolution applies only to Gallery Acres West. Any other customers seeking to connect to the city's water would have to seek approval, officials have said.

Iowa Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, who attended the meeting, said the community's approach could become a model as more cities could face a situation like Solon's in the future.

'This is a good step forward,” he said.

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com