Cost estimates for all three sites for a proposed reservoir and water pipeline from Des Moines were discussed at Clarke County Reservoir Commission's monthly meeting.
Natural Resources Conservation Service compared what a reservoir for just water supply would cost as opposed to the pipeline. The costs were released after landowners said comparing a recreational lake to the pipeline cost was misleading because it didn't compare similar items.
NRCS representative Marty Adkins said the estimated costs for site 3.5 is $24.3 million, site 4B is $30.4 million and site 5 is $30.2 million.
These estimates don't include costs associated with recreation, facilities, or land acquisition for recreation. Adkins cautioned that the estimates are preliminary numbers.
The costs for a recreational lake are still being developed.
Pipeline from Des Moines was estimated at $32 million.
NRCS introduced site 5 to the mix at the last CCRC meeting to consider all prospects.
"We thought we needed to do this study in the interest of being thorough," Adkins said at the previous reservoir meeting Jan. 14.
Adkins said at the Feb. 11 meeting that numbers for site 5 came in higher than he expected.
"It didn't have the cost savings that I was expecting because there was a lot of road relocation," he said.
The second draft plan for all three sites and the pipeline is still in the works. A public review is scheduled for the end of March.