Some Grand Island residents will soon be receiving a staggering water bill: seven thousand dollars.

With that cost comes one main benefit, literally.

The city plans to install a water main in four districts.

Hooking uo to city H2O doesn't come cheap.

You can just ask the homeowner's on Hagge Avenue or Park Drive.

"I have to take money out of my retirement fund again," District 461 resident Loretta Broberg said. "That's all you can do."

"I''m 63. I'd like to retire," District 459 resident Bob Lathen said. "I can't retire with paying stuff like this."

Or ask other residents in the four districts who will soon be able to tap into a city water main.

The price tag for that privilege is seven thousand dollars whether they hook up or not. Using the water is an extra cost.

The people have nowhere to go," District 461 resident Dan Naranjo said. "They're going to be assessed the seven thousand dollars and not be able to afford that let alone hook up to their own property."

That's an issue that Naranjo said doesn't affect him.

He says his concern is for his neighbors.

"I would like to have the city water come into my house. For me, it's not a big problem," he said. "My concern is for those who are on fixed incomes, those who are disabled, those who are on social security."

It's something Grand Island City Councilmember Peg Gilbert can relate to.

"My heart goes out to these people," she said.

She used to live in an area with contaminated water. That's the issue that sparked the water main petition last year.

Gilbert says billing residents in these situations is standard.

"That is very consistent in Grand Island," she said. "That's the way they have done it for 20 or 25 years. We create districts and it is up to the people in those areas to fund the water mains that go through it."

And more than fifty percent of property owners agreed to do just that.

That's the required number to begin a project like this.

"For the most part people are receptive of having water," Grand Island Utilities Director Tim Luchsinger said. "We consider it a value to have city water to residences in this area."

"There will be long term benefits for these residents in having this water," Gilbert said. "It's painful. It's expensive. But, they will see a benefit."

Construction on the main will begin next week and is expected to wrap in August.

After that, it will be up to city council to assess the final cost to homeowners.