Sewage treatment system started in Fruitland

Officials broke ground Friday on a $32 million wastewater treatment plant and sewage system that will remove residents' dependence on septic tanks and lagoons.

Voters created the sewer district in 1997, said board president Joe Tousignant, and in 2014, the district was reorganized and became the Cape Girardeau County Reorganized Common Sewer District.

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved $14.4 million in funding, and that allowed work to progress in earnest, according to previous reporting.

In August, President Donald Trump's administration, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director for Missouri Jeff Case, announced that the USDA is investing over $17.8 million to complete improvements on the centralized wastewater treatment system, benefiting 3,723 residents in its service area, according to a news release.

The project includes the addition of 23 miles of collection lines, 16 duplex lift stations, 28 simplex grinder pumps, and a 425,000 gallon-per-day wastewater treatment facility.

Fruitland is an unincorporated community north of Jackson, and up until now has been served by numerous septic tanks and lagoons, which, Tousignant said, are expensive to operate, are not great for the environment, and many are at the end of their usability.

"It's a huge problem for the area to try to keep these things going," Tousignant said, gesturing to the lagoon system behind him.

The economic benefit to Fruitland and the surrounding area will be great, he added.

"We're already seeing new businesses sprout up here, and we're seeing the building of affordable housing. ... Property values will go up as a result of having a good sewer system. We'll have a cleaner environment. Our streams will be cleaner. The environment will be better for the health and safety of our citizens," he said.

After the groundbreaking, Tousignant said he's contacted weekly by residents who are ready to be hooked up to the system.

"The project will be a net positive for everyone in the area," he said. "Nobody wants to pay sewer bills but we did everything we can to make this affordable as possible."

Tousignant said he's looking forward to opportunities this project will present.

"Our backyards will be dry, we can build swimming pools, gardens where we want them, shop buildings, patios -- really open up our yards," he said.

Penzel Construction of Jackson was awarded the bid for the wastewater treatment plant for $5,964,359. Carstensen Contracting of Dell Rapids, South Dakota, was awarded the bid for the collection system for $19,378,098. The projects have a 12 and 24-month completion requirement, respectively.