A decades-old, leaking wooden water tank on Barnett Drive will be replaced by a new steel tank by next summer.
The Haines Borough Assembly recently authorized manager Mark Earnest to engage in a $538,000 construction contract with Southeast Road Builders for the completion of the project, which will include the removal and disposal of the existing pump station and foundation, installation and procurement of the new steel tank, and installation of a submersible mixer.
“What (the mixer) does is it keeps the water moving so it will keep it from freezing,” said public facilities director Carlos Jimenez.
The tank, which stores and serves water to residents connected to the borough water system, will hold 40,000 to 50,000 more gallons than the old tank.
The borough received two bids for the project, but decided to go with Southeast Road Builders because Pro-West Contractors, LLC quoted the project at $975,000.
Finding funding for the new tank has been a lengthy process, Jimenez said. Seventy percent of the cost will be covered by a municipal matching grant from the Department of Environmental Conservation, and the other 30 percent will be paid with loan proceeds from the DEC’s Alaska Drinking Water Loan Fund.
Jimenez said construction should begin once the ground thaws and the foundation can be laid. The contract stipulates the project must be complete by the end of August.