Work is progressing on the Perry Water Works construction of a new water main on Perry’s west side even as excavation was slowed this week when work crews hit fine-grained sugar sand along the route.
The project, designed to bring city water to Peters Service Center at 98 Willis Ave., includes a 10-inch water main along W. 10th Street from St. Paul Street to Willis Avenue and a 6-inch main along Willis Avenue from W. 10th Street to I Court.
Both lanes of W. 10th Street between Willis Avenue and St. Paul Street were closed this week as Scott Hughes of J. S. Peters Ltd. led a crew in the installation of the new 10-inch water main.
“We hit a lot of sugar sand,” Hughes said Wednesday as he stood by the trench box on W. 10th Street near the corner of St. Paul Street. “That makes the work a lot harder, but we’re still in good shape.”
Boring along Willis Avenue has also been challenging for the same reason, according to a worker with Earlham-based A-One Geothermal, which is subcontracting with Peters.
“This sugar sand is a real bear,” the borer said. He said A-One Geothermal plans to do all the boring for the project.
When completed, the project will add six new fire hydrants to the city’s water distribution system, three hydrants along W. 10th and three along Willis Avenue. The Willis Avenue portion of the project will lie off the roadway and will not require closing the street.
The Perry Water Works is installing the new water lines at the request of the Peters company, which is sharing construction costs with the city.
Peters Service Center uses about 800 gallons of water daily, according to Hughes, who presented the private-public proposal to the Perry Water Works Board of Trustees at its September meeting.
Peters Service Center previously drew water from a well on the company’s property, but the well ran dry apparently as a result of subsurface disruptions caused by work at the nearby Tyson Fresh Meats plant, where an upgrade to the packing plant’s waste water treatment facility is underway.
Tyson Fresh Meats is Peters Service Center’s largest customer and also the largest consumer of water from the Perry Water Works.
Perry Water Works Superintendent Hank Schmidt called the joint project a “win-win” for both the water works and Peters Service Center. He said the city’s portion of the project will cost about $75,000, with the Peters company paying as much or more for the trenching machinery and for boring and labor.
The water works trustees approved the project in November. The 10-inch main on W. 10th Street will connect to a 10-inch main on St. Paul Street that supplies the Tyson plant. The new main lying along Willis Avenue to I Court will be a 6-inch main.
Schmidt said the larger mains will increase fire protection, water quality and water pressure to residents on Perry’s west side and will satisfy the demand for water at Peters Service Center.
Residents in the affected area along W. 10th Street are able to access their homes and their driveways during the construction period. For more information, call the Perry City Hall at 515-465-2481 or the Perry Water Works at 515-465-2562.
Sounds like the Raccoon River was that far east at one time.