The City of Pella is facing the daunting task of what will be a massive overhaul of the city’s water and wastewater systems in the near future. Recent mandated improvements from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to eliminate wastewater bypasses and recommendations from the city’s engineer have the City of Pella facing at least $3.5 million in improvements to the sanitary sewer system in the next three years, and improvements involving Pella’s water source and replacement of existing distribution lines at a cost of around $18 million over the next twenty years.

Pella City Administrator Mike Nardini says replacing aging infrastructure is a situation facing communities all across the country.

“That’s something that we need to put together in future years and take a look at this system,” says Nardini. It’s really a policy issue for the existing council and future city councils on how aggressively do you go after replacing aging distribution mains in not only your water system, but on the sanitary sewer sides. This is a huge issue for nearly every city across America, and it’ll be a significant financial issue in the future.”

Nardini adds that much of the water and wastewater infrastructure in Pella and thousands of other communities around the country is between 50 and 100 years old.