Wright City’s public water and sewer utilities are now under the control of Public Water Supply District No. 2 (PWSD 2), based in St. Charles County.Wright City government sold the utilities to PWSD 2 for $10.5 million after the sale was approved by voters in April. The parties closed on the purchase July 12, said Mayor Dan Rowden.The sale will avoid the city having to pay the cost of significant upgrades for the systems that would have been required in the near future. It also allowed the city to pay off about $2 million in debt related to previous upgrades.“This is a win-win for our city, for our citizens and for the water district,” said Rowden.PWSD 2 can be reached by calling 636-561-3737. Staff are available to answer the phone 24/7. The water district can also be reached by email at info@waterdistrict2.com.PWSD 2’s office is located at 100 Water Drive in O’Fallon.There still are details of the transition that need to be worked out, said City Clerk and Treasurer Karen Girondo. For example, residential trash services will no longer be billed along with the utility services, so officials will have to work through the steps of separating the two.“It’s not done. We have a lot of things to go forward with. But today was a great day,” Girondo said after the sale.PWSD 2 General Manager Kevin Dunn said the Wright City utilities will eventually be integrated into PWSD 2’s existing network in the area. For now, PWSD 2 staff will simply be operating Wright City’s current facilities.The water district is working to add all the new customers into its computer systems, Dunn said. He explained that the billing schedule for Wright City customers might change by about a week. PWSD 2 is also planning to install a separate drop box for bills at Wright City Hall.Other information about PWSD 2, including contact information, has been mailed to customers, Dunn added.“We’re excited about taking it over,” he said, adding that an operating team will be set up in Foristell to address any problems in the area.Wright City customers won’t experience any immediate change in the water coming to their homes, but Dunn said once the system is tied into PWSD 2’s larger network, customers should experience fewer water pressure drops due to high usage, such as in the summer.Investing in the cityWright City already has plans for how it will use much of the funding from the sale of the water and sewer systems. Two major priorities are repairing or upgrading streets throughout the city, and completing the purchase of 62 acres of land for a new city park on Westwoods Road.The Wright City Board of Aldermen on July 12 approved hiring George Butler Associates Inc. to do a study of city streets and create a list of priorities for improvements. Representatives with the company said once they begin doing assessments in the field, it will take about two months to complete a report from the study.From there, the city would create a long-term plan for getting the street improvements done.The purchase of the new park property is next, said Mayor Rowden. The city signed a contract in January to buy the 62-acre plot for $1.2 million, but only upon successful sale of the utilities. Now that the sale is done, Rowden said city parks officials can begin planning for what to do with the land.“We’ll reach out to the community and invite people from various subdivisions ... to get their input,” Rowden said. “That will all have to be analyzed by construction engineers to come down with the final plans. That’s our next big project.”Wright City Water Tower