Carnahan lands money for southern sewer study

By LIZ VAN HOOSER of the Tribune’s staff 

Published Saturday, January 26, 2002

ASHLAND - Southern Boone County’s rapid growth is remarkable but is also a "two-edged sword," U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan said yesterday while announcing a federal appropriation of $250,000 to pay for a wastewater research project.

"Boone County is one of the fastest growing areas of Missouri," Carnahan, D-Mo., told a group of local politicians and curious Ashland residents in the city’s humble, wood-paneled alderman chambers. But "you don’t want the new growth to come at the expense of the environment."

The federal money will pay for more than half the Two-Mile Prairie project, a three-year study that will assess the environmental impact a regional sewer system might have on the corridor between Columbia and Jefferson City. The total estimated cost of the study is $427,000. The remaining money will come from the county, the University of Missouri, the city of Ashland, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Boone County Regional Sewer District.

The study will look at water runoff patterns in southern Boone County and assess the environmental features of the area. Largely undeveloped, southern Boone County contains a number of environmentally sensitive areas, including Three Creeks Conservation Area, portions of the Mark Twain National Forest and streams that are home to endangered species such as the Topeka shiner minnow.

Results of the study are intended for use in the design of a regional sewer system that would serve residents of Ashland, Hartsburg and some unincorporated areas of the county.

"We need to find out how much wastewater the nearby watersheds can handle and to what degree the water needs to be treated," Ashland City Administrator Ken Eftink said.

But southern Boone residents shouldn’t expect to hook onto a sewer line any time soon. While the impact study is expected to last three years, construction of a regional sewer system, now priced between $12 million and $14 million, is at least 10 years out, Eftink said.

"We are looking to the future of our city and county," Ashland Mayor Charlie Campbell said at the news conference. He reflected on development patterns in the state, saying Missouri towns initially sprouted near rivers and, later, near highways. "Future development will be along wastewater lines," he said.

The news conference came on the heels of the city’s approval of a tax-increment financing commission that could provide tax incentives for development of Ashland’s first large supermarket, department store and hotel.

Carnahan said she hopes the money will help Ashland and other towns base growth on solid planning and reliable information.

"We want to make sure growth happens the right way," she said.