Hampton taking steps to resolve water issues

The Hampton Village Board took steps forward to try to solve its ongoing water problems last week, voting at its Aug. 14 meeting to move ahead with the drilling of a test well in the park on the village’s west side. 
The village’s water system has been operating for several years with only one well which leaves the fire department with concerns about having enough supply to fight a major fire. High levels of nitrates in existing wells are also a concern.
Village board chairman James Parsley said discussion at the meeting focused on the Well 841 on Main Street, which has been shut off for several years. 
“That’s the one that we had some work done to see if we could get the nitrate levels down,” Parsley said. “We had a packer put on it and stuff like that and that did not work.”
Parsley said representatives of the engineering firm Miller & Associates were at the meeting to report their findings regarding that well. According to Parsley, they said that following their investigation, they didn’t believe any of the nitrate solutions they had proposed would work.
Parsley said Hampton plumber Terry Smith, who was also at the meeting, presented another idea which the board is going to try. Smith suggested the village consider drilling two lower volume wells rather than one that would pump at a volume of around 200 gallons per minute. Smith said that might avoid drawing nitrates into the well water. Parsley said the village plans to drill the first test well in a grassy area near the gravel parking lot of the park. 
According to Parsley, local farmers who have been using lower volume wells for household use for the past 15 or 20 years have not had problems with nitrates in their water. 
Parsley noted the cost of the test well could be between $40,000 and $50,000 which is less than an actual well because drillers use a smaller diameter bit. If the test is successful, Parsley said it would be re-drilled with a larger diameter for more volume. 
In another action designed to address the village’s water system, the board considered a proposal offered by volunteer Tom Williamsen for changing the village’s water rate structure. Under the proposal the base rate for all customers would go up from $25 to $30 and rates would be adjusted upwards in three steps depending on water usage. 
For instance, residential and commercial water customers would pay $0.00125 per gallon up to 20,000 gallons per month, $0.00200 per gallon for 20,001 to 50,000 gallons and $0.00300 per gallon for anything over 50,000 gallons. 
The water charges for Hampton Schools, which use a great deal of water during the summer for irrigation, would have higher benchmarks and price increases at 25,000 and 450,000 gallons per month. 
In summarizing his report, Williamsen said his recommendation was not intended to produce significant increases of income from water sales and was not intended to cause hardship to the water uses. 
“They are intended to sting on occasion and to remind water users to be stewards of the water resource,” the report concluded. 
The board voted to adopt the increases but Parsley said a resolution will have to be created by the village attorney and approved by the board before they go into effect. Village clerk Tammy VanHousen said the resolution should be ready for a vote at the September meeting and the new rates could go into effect this fall. 
Action was also taken on the new housing and industrial development subdivision on the village’s west side. Following up on measures approved at the July meeting, the board approved the infrastructure reimbursement agreement between the village and the Hampton Community Development Corporation (HCDC) which allows the sale of lots to move forward. 
The agreement provides for the village to be reimbursed for the utilities and other infrastructure it is providing to the new development. Under the agreement, when the first four lots are sold, the HCDC will receive $20,000 for each lot, while the village will get the balance. For the next five lots sold, the development corporation will receive $4,200 for each lot and the village will receive the balance of the sale price. VanHousen said there are three more tiers after that until all the lots have been sold. 
The board also passed Resolution 2023-9 which allows the village to construct additions and improvements to the sanitary sewer system and Ordinance 396 which creates a street improvement district for the subdivision. Also approved was Resolution 2023-7, allowing the village to receive and distribute funds from a $148,000 Community Development Block Grant awarded to the village to provide infrastructure for the industrial lot along Highway 34 at the south end of the development. 
Two other actions by the village board at the August meeting will help protect the community in the event of a tornado and guard the village’s internet technology.
The board approved a $54,500 grant from the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency to install two tornado sirens in the community (only one is operable at this time) and gave the nod to a contract with 1 to 1 Technologies of Central City to protect village-owned computers from hackers.