Sheldon, Iowa — The Lewis & Clark Water System’s board of directors have awarded a $5.2 million contract to a Pipestone, Minnesota company for construction of the 6-1/2 mile segment of 24-inch steel pipe between Luverne and Magnolia in Minnesota.
Sheldon City Manager Scott Wynja says that actions taken by the state of Minnesota have helped move the project along, and he talks about what that will eventually mean to Sheldon, as well as other communities waiting to be connected to the Lewis & Clark system.
Wynja says that the Iowa Legislature has been approached and urged to adopt a funding mechanism similar to the one Minnesota is using to build this latest project.
He says that, while no pipeline is being extended in Iowa at this point, the completion of the most recent Minnesota project will indirectly benefit Sheldon.
Meanwhile, Wynja says recent precipitation has allowed the City of Sheldon to bring some of it’s shallow water wells back online.
Construction on the Luverne to Magnolia segment of the Lewis & Clark system is expected to begin this spring, and be completed by next fall. Lewis & Clark is currently serving 12 of it’s 20 member cities and rural water systems. Luverne is anticipated to begin receiving water sometime in January, which will bring the number of connected systems to 13.
