Cape Girardeau city officials hope to let bids next month on a new water storage tank for the city's water treatment plant on Cape Rock Drive.

The bidding process for construction of the storage tank is the latest in a series of steps to improve the city's water delivery system and expand Treatment Plant No. 1.

Construction for the new well should start next year, said Doug Leslie, the city's public works director.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will have to review all the plans for the project, he said.

When the project is complete, the city's water treatment capacity should increase from the present maximum of 7.3 million gallons per day to 10 million gallons per day by 2010.

In November 1996, Cape Girardeau voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax to fund the $26.5 million project, which includes expanding the treatment plant facility, construction of a new storage tank for treated water and construction of 21 new filtering wells to replace the existing water intake system on the Mississippi River.

Leslie recently learned the city has been approved for a $25.4 million low-interest loan from the State Revolving Loan Fund for the water plant project. The low interest loan will save the city about $3 million in financing costs.

City officials say the project is necessary because the city keeps bumping up against its maximum water treatment capacity.

Construction of the new 1.75-million gallon tank should be complete by May 1999. Cost is estimated at $1.25 million.

The improvements to the city's water system are planned through the year 2010 and beyond. The third and final phase of the project is scheduled to end after that year, depending on the city's water needs.

"It's difficult to say when it's going to be wrapped up since it's going to be a phased project and we're planning on a 10- and 20-year timeframe," Leslie said.

Treatment Plant No. 1 was built in 1930. The last expansion in 1985 brought it up to its current treatment capacity of more than 7 million gallons per day.

As the city's population has grown, so has water consumption. In 1983, average water requirement was 3 million gallons per day.

By the year 2020, city officials project the average usage will be 7.2 million gallons per day.

The present water system is too small and too old to meet the city's needs, city officials say.

With the river intake system now in use, said Willis Wilson of Burns, McDonnell, the engineering firm handling the expansion, water quality varies continuously and treatment capacity depends on the level of the Mississippi River.

Some of the treatment processes don't meet state requirements, Wilson said, and more storage for chemical processes is needed. In addition, the treatment plant's electrical system and monitoring controls are outdated and need to be replaced.

Phase I includes construction of 10 filtering wells with a capacity of 5 million gallons per day.

The plant now treats raw river water, Leslie said, which requires extra treatment.

With purifying wells, he said, strata of sand and rock will filter out many of the impurities before the water ever gets to the treatment plant.

"it's more beneficial. It's more uniform to begin with, and you have less sediment to deal with. It's easier on all your equipment," he said.

Also included in Phase I:

-- Construction of one new treatment train with a 2.75-million gallon per day capacity.

-- Rehabilitation of the two existing 2.25-million gallon treatment plants, bringing the total plant capacity to 7.25 million gallons per day.

-- Construction of new lime and chemical feed and storage structures.

-- Construction of a building addition to house 14 new filters.

-- Rehabilitation of six existing filters.

-- Construction of the new finished water clearwell and pump facilities.

Phase II calls for installation of five more purifying wells to bring the well field capacity up to 7.25 million gallons per day.

Phase III calls for building up to six more wells for a capacity of 11 million gallons per day, and construction of a new treatment plant with a 2.75 million-gallon per day capacity.

Total estimated construction cost for Phases I and II is $18.3 million.

Phase III will be carried out after 2010 depending on funding and needs, say city officials.