​​A sign at the GMG High School baseball field in Green Mountain provides information about the long-gestating wastewater collection and treatment facilities project in the unincorporated community. Bids for the project were submitted on Aug. 6, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently reviewing the apparent low bid from Con-Struct of Marshalltown. SUN COURIER FILE PHOTO

GREEN MOUNTAIN – The unincorporated Marshall County community of Green Mountain is one step closer to having construction start this October on a village-wide sanitary sewer project that has been in the planning stages for 12 years.

Iowa Rural Utilities Association (IRUA) CEO Matt Mahler told the newspaper that Con-Struct of Marshalltown is the apparent low bidder on the sanitary sewer project during a telephone interview this past Monday (Sept. 8). The IRUA is based in Newton and has been working with the village on the project since 2019.

“The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington has allocated $3.7 million dollars for this project,” Mahler said. “This amount has increased (by) $450,000 recently, and the USDA’s state office in Des Moines is reviewing the bid to make sure it meets a variety of specifications. I am convinced their office is working conscientiously to keep the process moving forward. And I am cautiously optimistic work can begin in October barring unforeseen issues. This is a complicated initiative since it is large in scope and the village’s sanitary sewer system is being installed from scratch.”

Mahler said six experienced companies submitted bids on Aug. 6.

The project became necessary when the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Des Moines determined that several privately-owned septic tanks near Nicholson Creek on the village’s west side were deficient and contaminating the waterway. The creek flows south into Rock Creek, which then flows into Iowa River on the east side of Marshalltown.

Once construction starts, all privately-owned septic systems in the village will be disconnected from the property and filled-in. The properties will then be connected to a village-wide sewer system that will flow to an IRUA-owned sewer lagoon which will be serviced twice per year by IRUA staff.

At a public meeting in the village’s community center July 9, Mahler told the nearly 45 residents who attended the project consists of two miles of pipe and 54 manhole covers. The Marshall County Sanitarian and IRUA staff will monitor installations and other work.

Mahler said his office and USDA are working aggressively to keep individual monthly sanitary sewer bills as low as possible. At the July 9 meeting, Mahler estimated residents could expect to pay $104 to $150 per month or between $1,248 to $1,800 annually.

A number of residents at the July 9 meeting expressed concerns about being able to pay the estimated amounts in addition to monthly IRUA water fees.

“We have a number of residents on fixed incomes and I know this additional expense will be a hardship for them,” village spokesperson John Worden said after the meeting.

“We will know what each property owner’s monthly sanitary sewer bill will be when construction is complete,” Mahler said.

Individual monthly fees are necessary to pay off a 40-year loan from USDA to help finance the project.

Mahler said a number of other grants are being utilized to reduce overall project costs.

“The fact that a low bid was determined and is being reviewed by USDA in Des Moines is good news,” Worden said on Monday. “We will continue to monitor further developments.”

The 2023 U.S. Census reported Green Mountain’s population as 105. The village was platted in 1883 and has remained unincorporated, meaning it does not have a mayor or city council elected by residents.

Government-related business is managed by the Marshall County Board of Supervisors. Con-Struct has offices in Ames and Marshalltown and was formed in 1971, according to its website.