GARNETT — It was truly the China Syndrome for the city of Garnett. After many snags, the city’s new water line project will be completed in four to six weeks. Now that the latest – and most bizarre – delay has been resolved, a contractor will finish installing a new water pump at the Cedar Valley Reservoir pumphouse west of Garnett. City manager Joyce Martin said because much of the water line was financed by federal economic stimulus funds, builders had to buy American parts. That wasn’t a problem until the contractor tried to hook up the new pump to the new water line, she said. Despite an increasingly frantic search, the contractor couldn’t find any American manufacturer that made the pump fittings any more, she said. And for a project that required “Made in America” components, that halted the work, she said. After the city appealed and “jumped through a lot of hoops” to show there was no alternative, state regulators relented and allowed the contractor to get parts from overseas sources, she said. The contractor has just received the parts and will complete the installation, she said. The project had faced other snags including a contractor that ran out of money and walked away from the year-long project earlier this year.
Monday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m.
