BELLE — Multiple water infrastructure projects are currently underway throughout the city of Belle, including efforts to improve water pressure, complete new water line installations and expand service capacity to the south side of town.

Mayor James (Pudd) Mitchell told the Belle Board of Aldermen on June 11 that work continues on the Alvarado Avenue water line project, but final connections cannot be completed until testing requirements are satisfied.

“The pipe is all laid,” Mitchell said. “It’s not hooked together at First Street yet.”

Mitchell explained that contractors removed a section of the existing water main during construction, creating a temporary configuration that has contributed to water pressure issues in portions of the city.

“When they installed all the main up through there, they cut about a six-foot section of the existing main that was there out,” Mitchell said.

As a result, water is currently being routed through an alternate path.

“There’s water in it feeding things, but it loops around,” Mitchell said. “That’s why we’re having so much low pressure on the south side, on the west end of town.”

According to Mitchell, the pressure issues should be resolved once testing is completed and the new line is fully connected.

“As soon as they can get that pipe to pass a test, then they’re going to come back up here and start tying it all in,” he said. “Then that will tie in, and the low water pressure and everything will go away.”

However, city officials reported repeated difficulties obtaining passing test results on the new line.

“They’ve took samples a couple times, and it’s failed,” Mitchell said.

The city has flushed and disinfected the line multiple times in an effort to identify the problem.

“The pipe’s all been bleached, everything. It’s been flushed out two or three times, four and five hours at a time,” Mitchell said.

Officials remain uncertain whether the issue stems from contamination within the line or the sampling process itself.

“We don’t know if they’re just not getting the pipe clean enough where they’re taking the sample from, or what,” Mitchell said.

To obtain additional information, city crews planned to collect another sample and have it independently tested.

“We’re going to take a sample in the morning, and we’re going to take a sample to Jeff City and have them test it and see what comes back,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell also updated the board on progress of a separate project designed to increase water capacity on the south side of Belle.

The project involves installation of an eight-inch main extending from the water tower to serve the south side of town and the sports complex and was made possible by the Missouri legislature’s appropriation of $1 million for the State Infrastructure Program (SIP) grant awarded to the city in August 2024. 

“The eight-inch main that’s going from the water tower to the south side that will feed the south side of town and the sports complex and all out there,” Mitchell said.

One of the most challenging portions of the project involved installing a casing beneath a highway crossing.

“The casing is under the highway,” Mitchell said. “They had a hard time getting it under it, but they finally were able to get it pulled through.”

Despite the challenges, Mitchell said construction crews have made significant progress.

“They started working on it today,” he said. “They got 640 feet laid in the ground.”

The city expected the installation work to be substantially completed the following day.

“They anticipate getting it finished up tomorrow,” Mitchell said.

He also reported that city crews recently responded to a water main break on Jersey Street, which occurred beneath a sidewalk, requiring excavation and repairs.

“They had to dig the sidewalk up and everything,” he said.

Mitchell credited Darrin Guinn, public works director, and Jim Goben, public works supervisor, for responding quickly and restoring service.

“Our guys got it fixed and got everything back going,” he said.