Public Water Supply District No. 1, which serves the city of Arnold, will move to a new home and is planning numerous improvements across the district after securing an $18 million Certificate of Participation loan.
Erin DeVore, PWSD No. 1 executive director, said the district recently purchased 1.67 acres near the water tower. The district will move its operations facility to the property off Michigan Avenue.
She said PWSD No. 1 paid $2 million for 1.09 acres that was the home of Best Auto Inc., 2120 Michigan Ave., and another 0.58 acres, 2116 Michigan Ave., next to the larger property. She said the district purchased the land from Best Investments.
The district will convert the Best Auto building into a storage facility for its vehicles, equipment and supplies, and it plans to build office space next to the building.
DeVore said the Best Auto building is 7,260 square feet, and the district is still determining the size of the new office space. PWSD No. 1’s current office is at 2970 Schneider Drive off Tenbrook Road next to the Arnold Athletic Association’s fields, and its vehicles, equipment and supplies are stored at the water tower property.
“This has been a long process,” DeVore said. “We knew we had this extreme need because how many places do you know that have equipment like we have and not have an actual place to put that equipment?”
DeVore said the district secured the loan, which is similar to a lease-purchase agreement and does not require a vote by district residents as a bond issue would need, after a firm completed a facility report.
She said the facility report analyzed the water system, potential growth, storage and reliability of the water source and other aspects of the district. She said the report plotted a 20-year plan to keep the district up to date.
“We looked at long-term goals and analysis of what our system will need, and that came out to (a cost of) about $12 million,” she said. “We did a large loan, so all of that could start going and not wait for any of the upgrades.”
DeVore said the district will repay the loan with money from its capital improvement fund. She said PWSD No. 1 is expected to pay about $1.7 million per year to repay the loan.
DeVore said the loan will need to be paid off by July 2040, and it is projected to cost a total of $24,392,000. However, PWSD No. 1 may pay off the loan by August 2034.
She said the district collected $5,496,000 in revenue and spent $4,700,709 last fiscal year.
“We are in a good financial position,” DeVore said. “It was if we are borrowing money to do all of these improvements that we are facing in the next 20 years, let’s make sure we get plenty. This keeps us in a better position, so we are not using what we have in reserves for a non-emergency.”
DeVore said the loan should not change PWSD No. 1 rates. The district charges a minimum of $25.75 per month for up to 2,000 gallons of water.
PWSD No. 1 charges $9.47 per 1,000 gallons of water for customers who use between 2,001 and 10,000 gallons per month; $6.70 per 1,000 gallons for between 10,001 and 100,000 gallons per month; $5.80 per 1,000 gallons for between 100,001 and 500,000 gallons per month; and $4.40 per 1,000 gallons for more than 500,001 gallons per month.
DeVore said the district had 7,738 customers last year.
She also said rates are based on how much Missouri American Water charges the district for water. She said PWSD No. 1 purchased 680 million gallons of water for $2,731,888 last year.
“We do not anticipate any huge rate increases,” DeVore said. “We may have small increases to keep up with Missouri American Water.”
DeVore said PWSD No. 1’s five-member Board of Directors voted unanimously on Aug. 21, 2024, to purchase the property. She said the first contract has been updated and amended multiple times due to changing closing dates and terms.
The board members voted unanimously on Dec. 3, 2025, to approve securing the loan.
New property
DeVore said the district has been working for a while to find a new location to store its vehicles, equipment and supplies, and house its office space.
“Last year’s tornado, we had a shed at the tower, and the tornado ripped that shed apart,” she said. “The roof was thrown into our equipment. It essentially destroyed our dump truck and busted a window out of an excavator. It has been a long-standing need that we need to get all of our equipment sheltered.”
DeVore said PWSD No. 1 will become more efficient after moving to its new location. She said the district will be able to respond to emergency situations, such as water main breaks, quicker, and customers will be able to access the operating office easier.
“It is better to be under one roof and in the center of town,” she said.
DeVore said there is no timeline for when the district will be able to start operating at the new space.
“I would love to have our equipment in by the winter, but until we can get our engineer and architect inside the building to know the extent of work we need to do, I can’t say,” she said.
DeVore also said the district is still deciding what it will do with its current office building that is off Tenbrook Road after it moves to the new building off Michigan Avenue.
“There have been a few different things discussed, but nothing has been decided,” she said.
More improvements
Along with purchasing a new location, DeVore said PWSD No. 1 plans to build at least one new water storage facility and pump station, improve current pump stations and upgrade water mains over the next 20 years.
She said the additional water storage facility and pump station are one of the district’s top priorities. She said the district’s current water storage facilities are the water tower, which holds 1 million gallons of water, and two smaller ground tanks off Tenbrook and Lonedell roads.
DeVore said it may cost between $3 million to $4 million to build a new storage tank and pump station. She said the price would increase by at least $1 million, if the district needed to build a water tower due to available space.
“It will put this district in a good position for the future,” she said of adding a storage facility and pump station.
DeVore said the district also needs to improve its current pump stations.
“There are better, more efficient pumps,” she said. “There is more reliable equipment now. Updating our pump stations is a big-ticket item.”
DeVore said the district also needs to replace water mains throughout the city because the mains are aging or need to be bigger.
“We track how many breaks we have in areas, and if you start having multiple breaks on the same main, it is time for that main to be replaced,” she said. “We also have mains that need to be upgraded. When they went in, they were 4-inch mains. Now, those need to be increased to allow more water to flow through to more developed areas.”