HARTLAND —  Local officials say a new water treatment plant built in Hartland is helping residents save money.

As part of a 40-year joint venture between Hartland and Freeborn, the water treatment facility was built to pump water from Hartland to and from the city of Freeborn.

Hartland Public Works Supervisor Andy Flatness said the venture will begin once Freeborn completes construction on its water mains. He expects the services to combine this summer.

The facility presently is used to ensure safe drinking water for Hartland.

Hartland Mayor Kelly Routh said residents were the No. 1 priority in the joint venture.

“We’re trying to work together and make things more affordable for the residents,” Routh said. “If we tried to go at this alone, we couldn’t afford it.”

The cities share ownership and the costs of the facility’s upkeep.

The water treatment plant, completed in November 2013, cost approximately $1.2 million, and the water tower cost approximately $500,000.

Routh said the savings from the joint venture allowed Hartland to construct the new water tower.

The welded structure of the water tower is in place. Flatness said he expects the structure to be completed this summer.

Costs for the system — including a new treatment plant, water tower, water main and water meters, plus engineering costs — total about $6 million.

Hartland received a $1.23 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan and a $1.25 million Rural Development grant to help cover the city’s costs.

Flatness said the project took six to seven years to complete from the beginning stages of planning.

Routh said the loan and grant were huge, both to the cities and the state.

“It just shows when they can combine two projects into one, it actually saves them quite a bit of money,” Routh said of the state.

He said the joint venture wouldn’t have been possible without the loan, because of the tax burden that would have been placed on the community’s residents.

The connection enabling the joint venture will be completed this year. After ensuring the system runs properly, residents outside the two cities will be able to connect two years after the line is connected, Flatness said.

Freeborn received a $1.18 million Rural Development loan, a $1.4 million Rural Development grant and $630,000 in Small Cities Development funding. The Small Cities funding was part of a larger $980,000 grant given to the city.

Routh said the old water tower was from the 1920s and the tank was from the 1960s.

“It was time to update it,” he said.

 

Why are you doing this for Hartland? 

“We’re trying to work together and make things more affordable for the residents. If we tried to go at this alone, we couldn’t afford it.”

 — Hartland Mayor Kelly Routh