Swedeburg area could get rural water by 2009
Two housing subdivisions south of Wahoo and the unincorporated village of Swedeburg could be getting their drinking water from the City of Wahoo in late 2009.
The Lower Platte North Natural Resources District took the first step in that direction when it recently set a date for a public hearing on a proposed improvement project area (IPA) that could make the rural water project possible.
The public hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 27 at the NRD office on the north edge of Wahoo. Staff will discuss the project, why it’s needed and the process for getting it approved and built.
Developers of Hillside Estates and Aspen Ridge petitioned the Lower Platte North NRD in late June to set up the IPA. “They asked us to explore running a rural water line to their developments,” said Mike Sousek, the district’s rural water manager.
The two subdivisions are just east of Swedeburg, which is about 5 miles south of Wahoo. Swedeburg’s residents — about 22 people — would be eligible to get water from the line, Sousek said. Right now, they get their drinking water from private wells.
“We want to get as many people as possible,” Sousek said.
The NRD said it needs about 110 hookups to make the project financially feasible. A typical customer would pay about $35 to $40 per month for the water.
Getting enough good water can be a problem in the area, Sousek said, especially if one or two irrigation wells start pumping.
“The aquifer does not have a lot of recharge,” he added. That’s why the district has a moratorium on drilling any new wells in the area. Also, deep wells can produce brackish water.
“It’s needed,” Sousek said of the rural water project.
Extending a water line from Wahoo to the Swedeburg area would cost about $1 million, which includes a booster pump, he said. If the NRD approves the project in March, the project could be completed by Sept. 1, 2009.
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff, a partner in the Hillside Estates subdivision, said he is OK with extending a water line from Wahoo to serve the area.
“We have no problem working with the neighbors,” he said. “Apparently, they are having water problems that we are not experiencing with our property.”
Tingelhoff is building Hillside Estates with Bill Hancock and Ron Sladky under the name BRS Development. The subdivision would have 56 homes. Aspen Ridge, being built by Todd Jansa, would have 52 homes.
Connecting the subdivisions to a rural water line was one of the key conditions imposed by the Saunders County Planning Commission.
The NRD would take out a loan to pay for the project, but the financial responsibility would belong to the developers.
“As part of the IPA process, if the rural water system does not make any money, whatever it loses will be assessed to those lots,” Sousek said.
Despite the tough real estate market, Tingelhoff believes people will be buying lots.
“One of the things it offers is country living and a quiet neighborhood,” he said. Low property taxes and short travel times to Lincoln and Omaha are also pluses.
This would be the third such rural water project for the Lower Platte North NRD.
In 2006, a water line was extended north from Wahoo to the village of Colon. That same year, the NRD worked with David City officials to extend a water line to the village of Bruno.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
The Lower Platte North Natural Resources District took the first step in that direction when it recently set a date for a public hearing on a proposed improvement project area (IPA) that could make the rural water project possible.
The public hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 27 at the NRD office on the north edge of Wahoo. Staff will discuss the project, why it’s needed and the process for getting it approved and built.
Developers of Hillside Estates and Aspen Ridge petitioned the Lower Platte North NRD in late June to set up the IPA. “They asked us to explore running a rural water line to their developments,” said Mike Sousek, the district’s rural water manager.
The two subdivisions are just east of Swedeburg, which is about 5 miles south of Wahoo. Swedeburg’s residents — about 22 people — would be eligible to get water from the line, Sousek said. Right now, they get their drinking water from private wells.
“We want to get as many people as possible,” Sousek said.
The NRD said it needs about 110 hookups to make the project financially feasible. A typical customer would pay about $35 to $40 per month for the water.
Getting enough good water can be a problem in the area, Sousek said, especially if one or two irrigation wells start pumping.
“The aquifer does not have a lot of recharge,” he added. That’s why the district has a moratorium on drilling any new wells in the area. Also, deep wells can produce brackish water.
“It’s needed,” Sousek said of the rural water project.
Extending a water line from Wahoo to the Swedeburg area would cost about $1 million, which includes a booster pump, he said. If the NRD approves the project in March, the project could be completed by Sept. 1, 2009.
Saunders County Attorney Scott Tingelhoff, a partner in the Hillside Estates subdivision, said he is OK with extending a water line from Wahoo to serve the area.
“We have no problem working with the neighbors,” he said. “Apparently, they are having water problems that we are not experiencing with our property.”
Tingelhoff is building Hillside Estates with Bill Hancock and Ron Sladky under the name BRS Development. The subdivision would have 56 homes. Aspen Ridge, being built by Todd Jansa, would have 52 homes.
Connecting the subdivisions to a rural water line was one of the key conditions imposed by the Saunders County Planning Commission.
The NRD would take out a loan to pay for the project, but the financial responsibility would belong to the developers.
“As part of the IPA process, if the rural water system does not make any money, whatever it loses will be assessed to those lots,” Sousek said.
Despite the tough real estate market, Tingelhoff believes people will be buying lots.
“One of the things it offers is country living and a quiet neighborhood,” he said. Low property taxes and short travel times to Lincoln and Omaha are also pluses.
This would be the third such rural water project for the Lower Platte North NRD.
In 2006, a water line was extended north from Wahoo to the village of Colon. That same year, the NRD worked with David City officials to extend a water line to the village of Bruno.
Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at (402) 473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.
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