Have patience with water project

Dear Editor,

Helena Sand and Gravel are doing the water line replacement in Malta, I have a residential house on 1st Street West, and am very pleased with the professionalism of this crew. Watching the temporary water lines placed above ground, the gravel ramps placed in driveways for home owner access, and providing vehicle access through the construction.

Sure, construction work is an inconvenience. But when the project gets done and the pavement replaced, we are going to have great satisfaction of a renewed water system within a large area of the city proper.

Going into local businesses and listening to causal conversation on the street, might I suggest that the Mayor herself and some of the upset residents who are vocal, show restraint in the criticism of the ongoing construction. Weather, wet gumbo, work delays, finding unknowns, are all part of construction of water systems. Give the crew some breathing room, compliment them, even offer some Gatorade. Plan ahead with your daily activities when water has to be shut off, and put on some walking shoes and park nearby when construction is close at hand, when the streets are closed for your safety, and space needed for the operation of their machinery.

Running water is so taken for granted, but there is the need to renew and upgrade the water system. Helena Sand and Gravel and crew have done a great job. If you have the urge to complain, take a couple of pails and go bail water out of the Milk River and carry back home.

Charles Johnson

Malta