CL will assist in upgrade to airport sanitary sewer system

by Marianne Gasaway

Thanks to funding from the federal CARES Act, the Mason City Municipal Airport will receive a much-needed upgrade to its sanitary sewer system.  The airport will decommission its wastewater lagoon system and replace it with a municipal connection to Clear Lake’s wastewater collection system.

Airport Manager David Sims was on hand as the Clear Lake City Council approved a 28E agreement with the airport to provide sanitary sewer service.  Sims explained the airport has identified the need for the project for many years, but simply did not have the funds for the project.

“I’ve been with the airport myself almost 16 years and this has always been on our agenda, but there was simply never any funding. Now we have the unique opportunity to fund this project that’s been needed for decades. We’re very thankful to be able to move forward with this finally,” said Sims. 

The estimated construction cost for the sanitary sewer work is $712,000.  The portion of the project that will involve extension of Clear Lake’s system, from the west right of way line to the east right of way line of North 40th Street, is estimated at less than $10,000.

The project will be funded at no cost to the City of Clear Lake.

The tentative project schedule has bid letting being held in January or February 2022. Construction would begin in May and be complete by September 2022.

In 2011 the cities of Clear Lake and Mason City and the Mason City Municipal Airport Commission cooperated on a water main extension project. That project was funded 95 percent by the Federal Aviation Administration and 5 percent by Mason City and provided for the extension of the City of Clear Lake’s water distribution system from North 32nd Street to North 40th Street.