Posted on 04/16/2016 8:19:44 AM PDT by Sequoyah101
Mountain Home Air Force Base is running out of water.
"The risk that we face is that if the base doesn't have a reliable water supply into the future, then it may risk the viability of retaining the base in the state of Idaho," said Cynthia Bridge Clark, a water manager with the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
"It's about a 10 mile distance so it's a significant pipeline project," Bridge Clark said.
Engineers say it should cost between 20 and 30 million dollars, and it should be complete in 2021.
The project will take a lot of time and money, but Mountain Home residents say it's more than worth it.
"The Air Force Base is very important to us here," said Ann Antoniello. "It keeps our community alive."
(Excerpt) Read more at kboi2.com ...
Why does it take years to design a cookie cutter water plant and $30mm to build it and a simple pipeline from the Snake River? Because it is government money, they don't have much else to do and they can spend that much because the expectation has been set for it to cost that much.
said Cynthia Bridge Clark, a water manager with the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
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She should have no problems with water that she can’t get over, with that name.
The Romans built aqueducts. Their army was also their engineering corps. You need infrastructure? Roads? Bridges? Aquducts? Send out the army and they’ll just do the work.
Today, it takes EPA reports, armies of bureaucrats and contractors, $30M and lots and lots of time.
I bet they could do this in a year for less than $5M if they really wanted to.
That must be some gooood pipe.
Can’t the Air Force simply steal the water from some local farmers who have already paid for it?
The first 5 years will be spent preparing the Environmental Impact Study.
This will determine that there is an endangered dung beetle in the path of the pipeline that must be protected.
After much litigation the pipeline will be routed 20 miles out of the way and the cost of the pipeline will increase by 5 time the original estimate.
Some years later the endangered dung beetle will be discovered to be quite common in Kansas.
I am stationed at Mtn Home AFB (currently as a civilian) and we do get our water from several wells. During drought years we do have issues when the aquifers begin to dry up, but this winter has been very wet with lots of snow in the surrounding mountains. Not sure why we are going 10 miles with the snake river and CJ Strike Dam/Lake are right below the high desert plateau the base sits on. The base has been around since the 1940s and could use better infrastructure. Like most bases we are no longer self sufficient and have to rely on the local power grid and other services to keep operational unlike in the old days when we would still operate as civilian services came to a halt. Unless of course we took a direct hit from a nuke. More issues for the Military caused by trying to save a buck so it can go to the give me dhats.
It's probably not milspec water.
Ask Trump to do it! $1,000,000 and six months!
Right, ... I forgot, it's been awhile.
Three million dollars a mile to lay some water pipe? Really?
I was at Mountain Home from 1968 to 1970. I learned to ski at Bogus Basin. If one likes hunting and fishing, it was ideal for that.
Can’t beat the Romans! They were truly greatest empire builders in history. The British were #2 (look at USA, Australia/New Zealand and Canada, all former British colonies)
and a water treatment plant. don’t forget you get a water treatment plant with that.
The lift from the Snake is a few hundred feet but it is not hard. A pumping plant or two.
You are spot on about the waste. Then again, have you ever gotten bids to repair/replace five foot of sewer pipe in your front yard?
Kinda Rocky ‘round the Snake....
Ed
I resemble that remark.
Cheaper to own a backhoe and do it yourself if you don’t break some damn law in the process.
I own a backhoe.
This is why we have a 19 trillion dollar debt.
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