BLAND — Bland officials are preparing for what could become a major wastewater system improvement project after engineers identified excessive rainwater entering the city’s sewer system and said future improvements will likely require a bond issue.

City Engineer Terris Cates with Integrity Engineering updated the Bland Board of Aldermen during the Aug. 10 meeting on an ongoing study of the city’s wastewater treatment and collection systems.

Cates said Bland’s collection system includes approximately 23,000 feet of clay tile and 136 brick manholes, infrastructure that allows a significant amount of rainwater to enter the sewer system.

“There’s a lot of rainwater that gets into our system,” Cates said.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a formula used to measure what is known as infiltration and inflow, commonly referred to as I&I.

“We do have excessive I&I,” Cates said.

Infiltration and inflow occurs when groundwater or stormwater enters a sanitary sewer system through sources such as deteriorated pipes, joints, manholes or other openings. In Bland’s case, engineers are studying how much water is entering the system and where improvements may be needed.

Cates said engineers are comparing the amount of water the city pumps and sells with the amount of flow ultimately arriving at the wastewater treatment plant. Rainfall measurements and data from a portable flow meter are also being incorporated into the study.

The information is being collected for a report that will eventually be submitted to the state.

“We’ve got a lot of data to present to the state,” Cates said.

He told aldermen he expects to return in September with a more complete report and presentation outlining the findings.

“The report’s going really well, and has a lot of good information,” Cates said.

Cates said the city is simultaneously pursuing an ammonia variance that could potentially provide additional time before certain requirements must be met.

“We’re also going ahead and trying to get an ammonia variance so that we can kind of push it back a little bit further, if we can at all,” Cates said.

Missouri Rural Water had been expected to work on the variance but stressed that the process needs to move forward sooner rather than later.

Once the engineering report is completed, the city will begin looking at how to pay for the necessary improvements.

“We’re looking at what’s going to be the most cost-effective for the city,” he said.

However, Cates told aldermen that a bond issue will likely be necessary.

“We will have to do a bond issue,” Cates said.

He added that engineers will try to keep the city’s financial obligation as low as possible by leveraging local funds against outside assistance.

“We’re trying to keep that down,” Cates said. “We’ll be leveraging our money here with the city, with grants and loans and so forth.”

According to Cates, issuing bonds could also help Bland qualify for the maximum amount of grant assistance available through the state.

“In order to get the most grant you can, you have to do a bond issue for the state,” he said.

No dollar amount for a potential bond issue was presented during the Aug. 10 meeting, and the board did not take action on placing a bond issue before voters.

Those details are expected to become clearer after engineers complete the wastewater study and identify the improvements Bland will need.

Cates said the city still has additional work to complete before the report is submitted to the state.

He also praised city staff members for helping gather information needed for the study.

The wastewater issue is expected to return before the aldermen in September when Cates presents the completed report and additional information on the city’s options.