South Burlington water tower expected to meet projected growth needs

Staff

1 year ago

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – South Burlington continues to grow and needs more water to do it. Voters on Town Meeting Day approved funding for a new water tower which will help the community to meet those goals.

For the last year and a half, the city of South Burlington has needed a new water tower.

“We reached that level — we have to find more water. So, the project is to double the amount of water we have available in South Burlington’s high service area,” said South Burlington Director of Public Works Tom DiPietro.

Voters signed off on the nearly $6 million bond on Town Meeting Day as the current water tower is at 98% capacity.

DiPietro says it could take the city about 20 years to pay off the current estimate of the project and already has grants lined up to help alleviate the costs. “We have one grant already for a half million dollars. We are going to finish up our plans and get our financing in order this summer and fall, then bid it so that construction can start in the spring of 2025. It’s a potential we could be done by the fall of 2025, or it could kind of extend into the next year. It depends,” he said. DiPietro says the new tower is expected to meet the city’s needs for the next 50 years.

“We are anticipating that growth rate to continue to about 1.5% a year. That certainly is driven by our TIF district, seeing City Center built out in the community’s vision. We are also seeing our business community really looking for workforce housing. So, clean water is certainly a pivotal part of local government, public health,” said South Burlington City Manager Jessie Baker.

DiPietro says they were pleased to know residents support the plan. “It’s always great we can put out a project like this, the voters send a clear message of support. It was over 70% positive vote for the tank,” he said.