By AJ Dome, The Mercury
Riley County commissioners have approved starting the application process for building a new rural water tower.
Commissioners on Thursday voted to allow county officials to begin applying for a special use authorization to construct a 300,000-gallon water tower for Riley County Rural Water District #1, covering some 160 square miles of water line from near Ogden north on Wildcat Creek Road to Anderson Ave, then west to Keats and north to the water tower along Tuttle Creek Blvd near the shooting range.
Agenda documents indicate county officials recently granted a private easement to RWD 1 for a smaller portion of a nearly 20 acre tract of land belonging to the county for the new tower. The easement includes a 22,500 square-foot portion of a roughly 20 acre tract of land not currently platted.
The goal is to increase water storage capabilities and decrease service interruptions during peak usage times like the mid-summer.
Commissioners are meeting Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. downtown, with updates from the health department, emergency management and planning and zoning.