Mills Water Infrastructure
The City of Mills and the Central Wyoming Regional Joint Powers Board have been engaged in a declaratory judgment action concerning issues that the City of Mills has raised with the Joint Powers Board prior to the litigation. Cross motions for summary judgment have been argued and all parties are waiting for the decision.
Mills runs its own water system and is not part of the Central Wyoming Regional Joint Powers Board, although there are water lines running within the town that are not part of Mills’ system and which Mills has never had any oversight over. Included in those is a 16” Regional water main that runs under several blocks of trailers and houses in Mills and runs for an overall length, in Mills, of over five miles. This is a safety issue for Mills as the line is believed to be well over 50 years old. Should the line break at some time in the future it could severely damage properties and homes in Mills, a problem that would be compounded by the $250,000 cap on claims involving governmental entities.
Mills scheduled a meeting with the Central Wyoming Regional JPB (City of Casper water supplier) and asked them to come up with a joint 5-to-10-year plan in which Central Wyoming Regional JPB would replace the 16” water main that was nearing the end of its life cycle, and Mills would resurface the streets which needed attention anyway. The Central Wyoming Regional JPB sent a letter several months later stating they were declining to do anything.
In response, Mills passed an ordinance seeking to address the issue within Mills. This required Regional and other non-Mills water systems to enter into agreements with Mills for their systems so that they can be monitored and inspected by Mills. After it was passed, Regional filed suit against Mills seeking to have the ordinances declared invalid in a declaratory judgment action and Mills has replied seeking the opposite.
Mills has always had its own water system and, along with Evansville, declined to join the Central Wyoming Regional JPB in the early 1990s when it was formed. In the three decades since that time the boards members and council members have undoubtedly changed over many times and the areas and extent served by both water systems have changed enormously. Most likely no one involved in the original decisions remains on either body. Mills seeks to cooperate with all the systems that are located within it, and due to projected growth in the county, it anticipates that in the future it is almost inevitable that additional Regional and other non-Mills water lines will be incorporated into the city through annexation. Mills anticipates that such incorporated areas will retain their existing water systems for cost efficiency and convenience and all systems will have to work together. As expressed in its ordinance, Mills wishes to have the ability to regulate, inspect and invoice for these systems for the convenience and safety of Mills residents. The goal is, for Mills to be able to keep the costs low in the existing areas served by the treatment plant and expand in those areas served by Central Wyoming Regional JPB.
Providing safe water, with a safe water infrastructure, is one of the foremost obligations of the city and we continue to work to assure this goal.
