City seeking sewer cam bids

McCOOK, Neb — The sewer department of the City of McCook needs a new camera.

Bid specifications for a new camera that inspects sewer mains were approved by the McCook City Council Monday night, along with other consent agenda items.

The camera is used to assess mains and collects information from service taps, low areas in the main, cracks in the pipe joints, deposits of grit and the detection of tree roots, the “nemesis” of any sewer system, according to Utilities Director Jesse Dutcher in the city staff report.

Over the past few years, the current camera has had problems with the cable reel system that connects the camera to the camera van and the electronics that operate the camera. The current budget has provisions to replace the existing sewer inspection camera system with a current year model, the report said.

Another consent agenda item approved Monday night was the Encroachment Agreement with Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) for the purpose of soil boring and/or installing underground monitoring wells along the east and west sides of the 100 Block of West 4th Street, between West "A" Street and West "B" Street.

(IPL) is requesting permission to do soil borings and/or install monitoring wells with the city of Mccook right of way to assist the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in determining the extent of contamination of groundwater on the area, according to the city staff report.

The work will be doing on the east and west sides of 100 block of West Fourth, between West A and West B. The wells will be accessed periodically for water sample collection.

The source of the contamination is the former site of a gas station.

The property is now owned by Black Hills Energy and occupied by Black Hills Energy warehouse and outdoor storage facility.