Mayor explains water well project concerns

Water has been on a lot of people’s minds lately, with plenty of discussion in and outside of meetings of the Thermopolis Town Council. The Hot Springs County Rural Water Joint Powers Board has been a strong proponent for drilling a new well at Lysite Mountain in order to tap the groundwater there, and has presented a case that indicates there would be lower water rates and better tasting water for board members.

Most recently the joint powers board – consisting of the districts of Owl Creek, South Thermopolis Water District, East Thermopolis, Hot Springs County Commission and, possibly, Lucerne – has come before the town council to ask for their support in the well project. However, there are some concerns that Mayor Mike Mortimore has with the project, one of them being depreciation.

Mortimore explained the town depreciates everything it put in, for instance the tanks on Round Top. Depreciation is not done on the portion paid by the town, but on what it costs to do a project.

He noted the town funds depreciation 100 percent, and that depreciation is factored in over a given number of years.

With regard to a $32 million project – what the Lysite Mountain well project was most recently estimated at - the goal is to have $1 million in depreciation in 20 years. That works out to funding depreciation at about eight percent, he said, about $50,000 per year.

Looking at a smaller example, Mortimore looked hypothetically at a $10 piece of equipment depreciated over 10 years. If that depreciation were funded at 100 percent, $1 would be put aside each year. At the end of 10 years, you would have the $10 to replace the item. Funding at eight percent means only eight cents would be put aside each year; a total 80 cents after 10 years rather than the needed $10. There might be funding agencies that can help, Mortimore said, but only to 60 percent — or $6 — meaning you would still have to come up with $3.20 to replace the item. He pointed out this is not taking into account inflation and the probability the item will cost more in 10 years.

Funding depreciation at 100 percent was not something started when the town was first formed, Mortimore said, so it tends to be something of a forced savings account. Money for various projects, such as the sudden line break on Canyon Hills Road is often taken from depreciation reserve.

When talking about water, Mortimore said one thing that should be a red flag to everyone but doesn’t seem to be is when discussion first began about doing a well there was the idea of putting one at Buffalo Creek. However, the town was not interested in having a well that would impact the Big Spring.

That could’ve put an end to a previous deal with Big Horn Regional, which Mortimore had joined when mayor back in the late 90s and early 2000s. He pointed out he joined in support of Lucerne, and he was originally told Ten Sleep would have enough water for everyone. However, after he left the new mayor and council were told there would need to be a new well and that administration said enough was enough and the idea was put to bed.­­

Mortimore noted he’s been supportive of the districts and obtaining a new water source, but not at the cost of impacting the Big Spring.

Among his other concerns is the lack of representation the town would see on the joint powers board, should they join it. Mortimore pointed out the water users of Thermopolis make up about 80 percent of the total users, and the other entities on the board need the town users to help share in the cost of getting cheaper water. However, the town would only have two votes on a board of five or six members. What that means, he said, is that the majority of the users have the least amount of votes. It also means there is more likelihood that town representatives on the joint powers board could easily have their motions overruled, and that the majority of the board would be comprised of only 20 percent of the users.

Mortimore is also concerned with the fluctuating numbers that have been presented. He noted the project, when first presented, would have a maximum of $34 for the base rate with a rate of $2 per 1,000 gallons. Mortimore later heard from a couple county commissioners and was told the base rate would be $20. Then, at a meeting with project engineers, Mortimore heard the base rate would be $37

At a recent town council meeting, the base rate dropped to $5 with a $1.50 per 1,000 gallons rate. Mortimore added he was in favor of the project if that rate could be guaranteed, but at the meeting expressed concern that the town would be signing on for a large dollar amount with no guarantee the base rate or that the per 1,000 gallon rate would not change.

As for the well itself, Mortimore was bothered about whether or not good water would be struck and what additional treatment would be needed. Though he’s heard the argument that the water would not need to be treated, he pointed out if the drilling doesn’t go perfectly there exists the chance that bacteria would be introduced and more treatment would be required, adding to the cost. As for staff to maintain the well, Mortimore noted it would be contract labor with no benefits to the employees, whereas currently there are three employees with the water plant that have benefits.

Also in regard to the water plant, Mortimore said it has a good life to it and the town can do upgrades and technological conversions as needed. Though he’s joked at council meetings about seeing if a company can make a filtration big enough for the plant, he’s since learned that such large filters are available.

Mortimore also noted the town pays for storage and has senior water rights, which have helped the town through droughts. With regard to the river, he noted we can see almost right away if something is happening with that current water source. As has been mentioned several times at council meetings that the river isn’t going away anytime soon and has been around for a very long time as it helped carve the canyon.

One thing to remember in all these discussions, Mortimore said, is that the council is remaining open to possibilities. He’s in favor of finding a way to provide a much lower base rate and per 1,000 gallon rate, but as a representative of the people he wants to make sure everyone is protected before major decisions like these are made.

There are just so many unknowns at this point, Mortimore said, and more research is needed as well as some more concrete numbers as to what the project will cost the town and the users. There are times when decisions are made through logic, he said, and other times when it’s a gamble, and gambling with people’s welfare is not something he wants to do.