The city of Marthasville has contracted Cochran Engineering to design the plans for a new water supply well and a 300,000-gallon storage tank to the northeast of the city.

Marthasville aldermen voted 3-0 on Dec. 28 to approve a $99,225 contract with Cochran for the engineering services. Alderman Chris DeVore was not present for the vote.

The engineering plans will include a hydrological study of how deep the new well needs to be drilled and the water flow it needs to produce for the city’s needs, which involves preliminary drilling at the site, according to the contract signed by the city. Also included will be the mechanical and electrical engineering for the well house.

Cochran will provide construction plans for the whole site containing the well and a 300,000-gallon storage tank, which will be positioned on the ground rather than in a tower. Cochran states in its contract that alternate sizes for the tank can be planned for and requested from construction companies, at the direction of the city.

To connect to the new well and water tank, Cochran will also engineer plans for 2,500 feet of new water main and an equal length access road. Both of them would connect to the city’s existing water and road network at the north end of Hiawatha Street.

Improvements to the water system have been a major ongoing project for the city, with new water lines being laid across several areas in recent years. The city government has had $200,000 set aside for the start of the new well project for several years as well, and an additional $30,000 was added to the 2020-2021 budget for engineering and surveying.

City officials have previously provided a long-term cost estimate of $1.4 million for the project. Issues with land acquisition and easement agreements have previously been a cause for delay on the project.