Fruitland's planned sewer system is moving right along and may begin construction by early 2018, the village's water district president said.

Fruitland, an unincorporated community near Jackson, doesn't have a central sewer system to serve its population.

Instead, its approximately 800 residents, two schools and 38 businesses rely on individual septic systems and lagoons.

In 1997, voters approved the creation of a special sewer district for Fruitland, which in 2014 was reorganized as the Cape Girardeau County Reorganized Common Sewer District.

Joe Tousignant, now president of the district board, said he's optimistic about beginning construction within the next several months.

Initially, the district suffered from a lack of funding, Tousignant told the Southeast Missourian in 2016, but in April that year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $14.4 million in funding, including a $5 million grant and a $9.4 million, low-interest loan, to be paid off through sewer fees, Tousignant said.

Septic systems fall under state and federal regulations, which make their use increasingly difficult, Tousignant told the Southeast Missourian in 2016.

Also, when septic systems fail, replacement costs often run into the thousands of dollars.

The sewer-system project is moving along, Tousignant wrote in an email last Monday, but each household and business that would be added to the sewer system must grant an easement to the district to allow pipes to be installed.

"I don't have the latest percentage of easements, as they continue to trickle in," Tousignant wrote. "I suspect within the 65 percent plus range."

Tousignant said he's optimistic the remainder of the easements will be approved within the next few months.

"I hadn't realized how exhaustive the process is to get every last easement and have every 'i' dotted and 't' crossed on the engineering, but we are getting there and pretty much on schedule," Tousignant wrote.

Brian Strickland of Strickland Engineering is working on the design and said he plans to submit it to the Department of Natural Resources for final approval within the next week.

"It's a very, very large project," Strickland said.

The initial cost estimate of the system was about $10 million, Strickland said, and once the contract is awarded and the contractor is told to proceed with construction, the system likely will take 18 months to complete.

The system would replace 18 existing treatment facilities and hundreds of septic tanks. It would serve about 820 residents, 38 businesses and two schools -- Jackson's North Elementary and Saxony Lutheran High School.

Strickland said the preliminary construction estimate included 30 miles of pipe, pump stations and force mains (essentially a pressure sewer), and the central treatment plant to be located near Route FF.

Tousignant said funding for the treatment plant is secured.

Land for the treatment plant was purchased as part of an agreement with Fruitland American Meat, owner Jack Whisnant told the Southeast Missourian in February.

The treatment plant will be on a 3.8-acre plot toward the rear of Fruitland American Meat's property, sold to the district at a price below appraised value, Whisnant said in February. The company also granted an easement to the sewer district for lines to be installed.

Whisnant said in February he believes the agreement will benefit both parties and better serve Fruitland's growing population.

Tousignant said he hopes the district board can bid the project by the end of 2017 and proceed with construction by early 2018.

The 18-month timeline would mean the project would be completed by mid-2019.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

Fruitland, Mo.