New water tower, system on way to Morse Bluff

by Mary Le Arneal
Published 8/15/18

The Morse Bluff water tower is getting an update. Exactly when has not yet been determined, but within the next year there will be a new water tower serving the village of 135.

The present Morse Bluff water tank is a bolted steel tank. It sits on the hill south of the village. Plans are in the works to replace it and add another well to serves the community.

There have been no problems with the current water tower, erected in 1979, but it is reaching the end of its 40 to 50-year life expectancy, and Nebraska Health and Human Services has recommended that the tower be replaced and a new well dug.

“We are in the very beginning stages,” village clerk Kathy Mensik said.

A preliminary engineering report was completed in July 2016 which evaluated Morse luff’s municipal water system in terms of physical condition, capacity, reliability and security. This allowed village engineer, JEO Consulting Group, Inc., to recommend upgrades to bring the village’s water system into compliance with current state regulations.

Mensik said that a grant has been obtained to pay for 70 percent of the project which would include a new well, new water tower and updating some water lines. Funding for the project will be derived from two sources: a Community Development Block Grant through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and a Loan/Grant through United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

Morse Bluff village board member Joe Zeleny is the village water superintendent and working to make the project happen, but there is still work to be done.
Preliminary plans call for the Village of Morse Bluff to be constructing a new municipal well, and alternate pumping between the new well and the village’s current well.

A new 40,000 gallon water storage tank (standpipe tank) will be built. The village will also be making improvements to the water distribution system (water lines), installing meter pits and replacing water meters.
These improvements should meet the overall water needs of the Village for the next 40 plus years, Mensik said.

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