Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

FM Water Line On Schedule

Fort Madison, IA – Fort Madison says it is still on pace to provide water to the Lee County Jail by early next year.

Fort Madison is building a multi-million dollar water treatment plant along Highway 61. It will be located several miles south of the Lee County Jail.

The county has agreed to purchase water from Fort Madison for the jail. A final contract, though, has yet to be approved.

Fort Madison will have to run a water line to connect the plant to the current distribution system. That will allow the jail connection with little extra construction.

City Manager Byron Smith says bids have been accepted, and opened, for the water line. He says there were multiple bids that were very competitive.

Smith says the original estimate for this work was more than $4-million. He says the bids were in the $3-million range.

Smith says a construction bid will be accepted at the Fort Madison City Council's first meeting in November. He says work is scheduled to get underway in December with the line reaching the jail complex by early January.

Meanwhile, Smith says Fort Madison has received the results of some additional testing at the site of the new water plant. Some concerns were raised that the property along Highway 61 was used as a dump site by many Lee County residents.

Smith says the Iowa DNR has informed the city that the samples sent from the potential dump site are contamination free. He says the city is happy with the results.