New hospital's main water source delayed

December 27, 2005

DAWN DE BUSK\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Mat-Su Regional Medical Center will be relying on an industrial well and sewage holding tank after it goes into full-swing operations Jan. 27, since the city of Palmer will not be able to supply the future hospital with its main source of water until October, according to officials with Valley Hospital and the city.

Having two sources of water and two ways of getting rid of sewage fall in line with disaster planning, said Valley Hospital spokeswoman Elizabeth Ripley. She said the hospital will always have the holding tank and the original well - just in case.

&#8220We have an incredibly high-producing well. We hit an aquifer. It's incredibly pure, wonderful water. We've joked that we could make money bottling water,” Ripley said.

However, the 2,500-gallon sewage holding tank could be a hassle.

&#8220It will need to be pumped, probably on a daily basis, until the time the separate water and sewer lines are connected,” she said.

Shamrock Septic has the contract to pump the tank daily, while the city will accept the waste in its facilities, Ripley said.

The hospital will use between 23,000 to 30,000 gallons of water a day, said Rick Koch, Palmer's director of public works. At a rate of 231/2 cents for every 100 gallons, Koch estimated the cost at $63 a day, or between $1,800 and $2,000 a month.

&#8220The rates will be higher than in the city of Palmer proper because we need to pay off bonds, but that hasn't been figured out yet. That portion of the utility will be managed as a separate profit,” Koch said.

The entire project should tally in at $13.1 million, with almost three-quarters of that money - $9.4 million - will be applied to the construction costs, he said.

Revenue bonds cover $2.3 million. The United States Department of Agriculture gave $7.14 million, state lawmakers appropriated $1.6 million, and the Environmental Protection Agency has given $600,000, Koch said. Then, $2.3 million in revenue bonds were raised, he said.

The city of Palmer pledged $1.3 million from the enterprise funds, but hopes to find grants to cover the costs, Koch said.The city put the project out to bid last summer, but if it had waited until this winter, the cost probably would have jumped by $2 million, Koch said.

&#8220At least now we aren't influenced by the market,” he said.

The project is on track and should be completed by October, Koch said.

&#8220It's 35 percent done. They've done main-line construction, road crossing and clearing,” Koch said of the company awarded the city contract to do the job.

The project is a joint venture with NIPPO and International Bridge Corp., he said.

&#8220We're obligated, on or before Feb. 28, to let them onto the land for construction,” he said, adding that slash piles are already being burned on the easement.

In the course of the year, about 20 properties were affected as the city acquired easements necessary to tackle this utility project.

The city will also supply water to other medical facilities near the hospital.

Koch said he plans to inspect the water-and-sewer stepouts at Providence's professional building to make sure those are being built to city standards. Stepouts are the stub of the pipe that connects from the building to the water-sewer system, he explained.

Once the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center has utilities providing its needs, other homes and businesses developed later along the water-sewer routes could tap into Palmer's new resource.

&#8220This wasn't going to be constructed if it was just to serve the hospital,” Koch said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252 or dawn.debusk@

frontiersman.com.