SURREY – The City of Surrey will hold a special election on Tuesday, June 10, on whether an additional 1% sales tax should be imposed to help pay for sanitary sewer and water distribution system improvements.

The polling place will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at Surrey City Hall. Voters can pick up an absentee ballot at the Surrey City Office or call and have the application mailed.

Surrey’s wastewater collection system has severe inflow and infiltration due to broken or cracked pipes, which cause increased strain on the city’s lagoons, according to information from the North Dakota Department of Environment Quality, which approved the project to proceed without further environmental review. The portion of the water distribution system that is part of this project is deteriorated asbestos cement pipe that is undersized.

The proposed project will rehabilitate the sanitary sewer system throughout the city by relining the pipes and doing spot repairs to significantly reduce the inflow and infiltration problems. Replacing the segment of watermain that crosses under the railroad will save time and costs in the future when the rest of the watermain is to be replaced.

The City of Surrey has applied for a Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan of up to $1.93 million and a Drinking Water State Revolving Fund loan of up to $242,000 to finance the project, according to a department news release.

Surrey currently levies a 2% sales tax that generates roughly $150,000 a year for infrastructure improvements. The amount generated from a 1% tax would be dedicated to reducing the loan term on the sewer relining project if voters decide the limited amount of sales tax money generated would be worthwhile for that purpose, according to the city.