Storm Lake weighs long-term water campus, not just new plant

A bigger decision than a replacement plant

Storm Lake’s water plan has moved beyond simply replacing an aging building. City leaders are now weighing whether to build a long-term water campus on 89 acres north of Storm Lake Early Elementary School, a move that could shape rates, land use and capital spending for decades.

The current plant on the west side of town is a 5.6 million-gallon-per-day lime-softening facility that was built in 1978, updated in 2002, received a major upgrade in 2004 and was updated again in 2014. That history is part of why the discussion has become so urgent: the question is no longer whether the city needs a new facility, but how much of the system should be planned at once.

What Storm Lake’s system looks like now

Storm Lake’s water system is groundwater-based and serves a population of 11,431, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources source-water tracker. The city’s distribution network includes 82.40 miles of pipe, more than 3,900 service connections, about 500 fire hydrants, over 4,000 water meters and more than 1,000 main-line valves.

That reach matters because the plant is only one part of the system. The city’s water department already has a large network to feed, and the Iowa DNR has recommended that Storm Lake expand its water facility because usage has grown while water capacity has shrunk. The source-water tracker also shows the system drawing from active Dakota and buried sand-and-gravel wells, underscoring how tied the city is to its groundwater supply.

Why consultants are talking about a campus

Bolton & Menk Water Vice President Chris Swanson told the council that residents can take “peace of mind” in the city’s investment in a new treatment facility, which he described as the centerpiece of Storm Lake’s water infrastructure. He said the firm has 75 staff dedicated to water treatment and has already built more than 200 treatment facilities, including both lime-softening and membrane systems, the two technologies Storm Lake is weighing.

Bolton & Menk Water and Wastewater Practice Leader Katie Sterk pushed the council toward a slower, more deliberate path. Her message was that the city should not focus only on the lowest upfront price, but also on reliability, operating comfort and long-term maintenance. She said city leaders would be able to review clearly defined facts and make decisions step by step, instead of rushing into a design that could create expensive second-guessing later.

Sterk pointed to projects in Milford and Albert Lea as examples of how careful design and close operator collaboration can keep facilities dependable for decades while avoiding costly surprises. That approach is why the conversation in Storm Lake has started to sound more like campus planning than a standard public-works replacement.

The ad hoc committee sees a systemwide project

Storm Lake’s Water Treatment Plant Ad Hoc Committee has already framed the issue as much larger than one building. In a Jan. 6, 2026 city release, former mayor Mike Porsch said the committee had looked at the complete water system, including wells and water-tower storage, and concluded that delay would raise costs and increase the risk of eventual plant failure.

The committee said a new plant could raise capacity from about 5 million gallons per day to 8 million gallons per day. It also said the current plant is far beyond a typical 20-year lifespan for such a facility, while a properly planned site could support a plant that lasts 30 to 40 years with future expansion built in. The group estimated that design and construction could take four to five years, with an ideal timeline for obtaining land within six months.

That longer horizon is the reason city leaders have been talking about a campus, not just a replacement. A site that can handle treatment, growth and future expansion is being treated as part of the engineering decision, not a separate land issue.

Why the site near the elementary school raised concerns

The city’s land purchase has made the stakes more visible. On Feb. 19, 2026, Storm Lake bought 89 acres just north of Storm Lake Early Elementary School for $2.45 million. The deal included $100,000 in earnest money and allowed the trust’s owners to rent 40 acres through 2029.

That location has already stirred concern because the current plant site is southwest of Storm Lake Middle School, and the new site would place a major utility project near school property. Councilwoman Maggie Martinez raised concerns about building a plant next to an elementary school playground. City Manager Keri Navratil said a 40-acre buffer would separate farmground where pesticides and herbicides are sprayed from the playground.

Mayor Meg McKeon said the city has not yet designed the plant and has not decided exactly where it would sit on the 89 acres. Councilman Don Piercy said the site was attractive because it is close to existing water lines and mains and to plentiful water supplies from the Dakota Aquifer. Engineers Tom Grafft and Julie Sievers of ISG told leaders the existing campus could not be renovated to accommodate a large expansion.

How the city plans to pay for it

The financial side is every bit as important as the land question. Committee materials and later city discussion have put construction costs as high as $100 million, not including land and engineering. Earlier planning also suggested spending could be staged over 2028, 2029 and 2030.

City leaders have also discussed phased utility-rate increases beginning in fiscal year 2027, with the average household bill expected to rise substantially. Grant funding is not expected to cover much of the cost for a city in Storm Lake’s size class, and general obligation bonds would shift more of the burden onto property taxpayers. Outside users such as Lakeside, Lake Creek and Truesdale would not fully share that cost.

That is why the next choices matter so much. The city is not just picking a treatment technology. It is deciding how much flexibility to preserve for future growth, how much financial risk to accept now and whether to build only for current demand or for the next generation.

What happens next

Storm Lake has already taken another formal step by issuing a request for qualifications for engineering services for the drinking-water treatment facility, with proposals due April 3, 2026. That process moves the issue from broad concept into the technical work of design, campus layout, cost control and long-term capacity planning.

For Buena Vista County residents, the outcome will reach well beyond the walls of a plant. If Storm Lake gets the campus right, it could secure a water system built to serve the city and nearby users for decades. If it gets the scale or site wrong, the cost of correcting that mistake could follow taxpayers and ratepayers for years.