Moreno aide visits Bowerston to discuss water plant relocation

On Thursday, Dec. 18, Juli Stephens, southwest regional director for Sen. Bernie Moreno, visited the village of Bowerston.

Stephens met with Mayor Paula Beamer, Village Administrator Bart Busby, Utility Operator Jeremiah Warner and Matt Miller of WE Quicksall Engineering to discuss Bowerston’s water treatment plant relocation project.

Beamer and her team took Stephens on a tour of the plant’s current location, which is in a flood easement zone near the village’s community park. The current treatment plant was constructed in the early 1950s, with upgrades in the 1980s and 1990s.

The service area for the facility includes the villages of Bowerston and Leesville, the Conotton Valley Local School District, and the LJ Smith Stair Company, encompassing areas in both Harrison and Carroll counties.

The current location is in a 100-year floodplain and has seen the access road to the plant blocked by floodwaters 14 times in the past 20 years. Most notably, in February 2022, floodwater entered the treatment plant, at which time the Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation.

Although Beamer and her team were at that time involved in major projects for improvements to both the water distribution system and the wastewater facility, they also began seeking funding to relocate the treatment plant.

The village purchased real estate off Main Street in 2023, the former site of the elementary school, in hopes of moving the plant to higher ground.

During the sit-down portion of the meeting, Stephens reported that she had submitted through  Moreno’s office “$1,000,000 in discretionary spending” for the proposed treatment plant and that she is currently “waiting on appropriation budgets to pass.” The preliminary cost for the project is estimated at $6,000,000.

Busby said “it’s not a matter of if, but when, the next flood will happen,” and Beamer agreed that the project is “critically important to the village, and all utility customers.” Although all funding is not yet in place, Miller said the project will “most likely be ready to go to construction in early 2027.”