Tieton looks to put water system woes behind it

The days of intermittent road closures and water stoppages are numbered, now that the final repairs to Tieton's water system are under way.

The Tieton City Council awarded the $1.2 million bid to MRM Construction of Ellensburg on Monday night. The work will extend from June 23 through September and will encompass a portion of Franklin Road from Ashbrooks Way to Rosenkranz Road, North Tieton Road to Dilley Road and Franklin Road to the water tanks past Pongala Road. The area covers about three miles.

"At the end of September, it's going to be great," Mayor Stan Hall said. "Everything is going fairly smooth."

The work is part of a $3.9 million project to replace and repair Tieton's water system, which broke in more than 20 places in November 2006. City officials had declared a state of emergency, and some residents went without water for a week.

The worst of the pipes were fixed last spring. Additional pipes have since been repaired along Naches Avenue, Maple Street, Minnesota Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue.

The project is being funded with a $2.6 million state grant, a $500,000 emergency loan from the Public Works Trust Fund, a Yakima County SIED loan and grant of $250,000 each, and $335,000 from the city's reserve funds.

So far, the city is more than $100,000 under budget for the entire project, Hall said.

* Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 577-7684 or esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.