WATERWORKS NEEDS

Something needs to be done about Cape Girardeau's aging water system. There is no question improvements are needed.

But while the need is clear, the solutions are not. The price tag has grown considerably, and the city faces a major selling job on both the size of the project and financing method.

The city's water plant will reach its maximum capacity in two or three years. The system's capacity is 7.3 million gallons a day. Last August, usage hit a peak of 6.83 million gallons. Average usage is around 4.5 million gallons a day.

City officials say the water plant can't accommodate any new business or industry that would use a lot of water. Problems with the system hit home last July when Cape Girardeau water users were asked to boil water for just over two days when pump failures during river flooding resulted in the possibility that untreated water would enter distribution lines.

But a plan proposed to the city council at its retreat last week would require more than $22 million over five years to build a new water plant and improve the existing plant. The overall project also includes an additional $17 million for line improvements in a 20-year plan to get water to the west side of town. Together, the two plans represent a $43 million investment over 20 years.

Why did the numbers grow so significantly since the first of the year? This past January, the council discussed $5 million to expand and upgrade the Cape Rock Drive water plant as part of the five-year capital improvement plan.

City voters enthusiastically approved the purchase of the water plant from Union Electric in November of 1991 by a 3-to-1 margin. During that vote campaign, the city agreed some improvements would have to be made. But officials disputed claims that significant and costly repairs to the system were needed. Proponents said only that the water system would need repairs and expansion in the future.

Burns & McDonnell, a consulting engineering firm, is recommending the city stop using river water and turn to groundwater. River water, heavy with silt, has taken its toll on water plant equipment.

The proposal suggests that the $22 million for construction and $2.2 million for annual operation and maintenance could be raised in two ways: a 59 percent rate increase or a 20-year quarter-cent sales tax.

The rate increase represents a significant amount of money. It would raise the average residential account nearly $10 a month and the average commercial account an average $42 a month.

On the other hand, sales tax proposals are often criticized as unfairly burdensome on the poor. Sales taxes continue to rise as local and state projects target this method of generating revenue.

Questions on this project abound. Is the new plant really necessary? Can a smaller project still provide safe water and more capacity? Are other financing options available? Although the needs are pressing, the city council should proceed carefully.