GREEN MOUNTAIN — After 12 years of discussion, grant and loan applications, town meetings and more, residents of Green Mountain may see contractors this October installing pipes for a village-wide sanitary sewer system.

Matt Mahler, CEO and an engineer with Iowa Rural Utilities Association (IRUA) in Newton — the agency managing the project since 2019 — told approximately 45 residents Wednesday evening in the town’s community center that IRUA will soon be letting out bids.

Mahler said bids are due Aug. 6. An award will be made to an experienced sewer contractor shortly thereafter if the bid process meets requirements.

“This project is complicated,” Mahler said. “The contractor will have to install an estimated two miles of pipe and 54 manhole covers. Usually, sewer systems projects are done piecemeal — that is they are added on to existing systems one pipe at a time. The Green Mountain project is big and starting from scratch.”

Additionally, Mahler said the contractor will be required to fill in existing septic tanks on each property. Village residents were outlining their septic system lines before and after Wednesday’s meeting.

The new sewage lines installed on each property will flow into a previously-constructed sewage lagoon. The lagoon will be serviced twice a year by IRUA staff. The lagoon was initially owned by Marshall County but has been transferred to IRUA.

A new village-wide sewer system became necessary when the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Des Moines determined a number of private septic systems were deficient and contaminating Nicholson Creek on the unincorporated community’s west side.

The creek flows south into Rock Creek, which then flows into the Iowa River east of Marshalltown. Mahler said individual property owners will be charged by IRUA an estimated $104 to $150 per month to pay off a 40-year loan from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) necessary to finance the project and make it a reality, Mahler said.

Annually, the monthly total expense ranges from $1,248 to $1,800.

“We have a number of elderly residents living in Green Mountain as well as families with young children,” said John Winters, who has lived in the village for more than 20 years. “I expect whatever the monthly sewer bill when added to their water bill is totaled up it will be a financial hardship.”

Winters, who is the owner and operator of a Marshalltown business, said he and other residents had also recently installed new septic systems at considerable expense. Those will be replaced by a new system that residents will be required to pay for monthly over 40 years.

Other residents expressed concern that it would be more challenging to sell their properties if potential buyers know they would be responsible for the monthly sewer expense. Mahler emphasized that the monthly expense range was an estimate, and a successful bid received below estimates could lower the monthly sewer expense amount.

Mahler said the IRUA will keep 15 percent of each monthly sewer bill to pay for their expenses related to managing construction and other project-related duties over the years.

The sewer expense will be added by IRUA to each customer’s water bill so customers will pay one amount. IRUA also provides water to customers in the village.

Mahler emphasized that several other grants are being utilized to make the project possible.

Several residents at the meeting expressed concern about the monthly expense. Green Mountain was platted in 1855 and has remained unincorporated, meaning it does not have a mayor or city council elected by residents.

As a result, it is governed by the Marshall County Board of Supervisors. Several attendees at the meeting asked if the supervisors could help with the monthly sewer expense for each property owner.

Marshall County Supervisor Jarret Heil of Haverhill said in a telephone interview Thursday that the board is willing to listen to the residents’ concerns but could not make any additional commitments until he has an opportunity to review previous agreements made by other boards over the 12-year period.

The IRUA is working with Haverhill and Saint Anthony and other communities with their sewer projects. IRUA is a not-for-profit organization servicing all or portions of 18 counties.

Mahler said the agency’s primary source of income is providing water services to its customers. It is governed by a board of directors. For more information, contact 800-400-6066 or visit www.irua.net.