Manville, Wyoming is replacing its entire wastewater system, a $15 million project that will install nearly three miles of new sewer pipe and reconnect every building in the remote eastern Wyoming town of about 80 people.

The project will replace 14,900 linear feet of aging sewer main with new PVC pipe, build 53 new manholes at depths up to 20 feet, and construct a new lift station to pump wastewater. Every existing service connection in town will be reconnected to the new system.

This is Phase 2 of a larger overhaul, indicating the town is midway through a multi-year replacement of infrastructure likely installed in the 1950s or 60s. Complete replacement rather than repairs suggests the old pipes have deteriorated beyond fixing, a common problem in rural systems where cast iron or clay pipes collapse or leak extensively after 50-plus years.

For a town this small, the project cost works out to roughly $150,000 per resident, an impossible burden without significant grant funding. Projects of this scale in rural Wyoming typically combine USDA Rural Development grants, EPA revolving loans, and state infrastructure funds to cover 70 to 90 percent of costs.

Manville sits in Niobrara County, one of Wyoming's least populated counties, where the tax base can't support major infrastructure work. The town held a mandatory pre-bid conference in early March. Construction must be substantially complete by February 2027, an 11-month window that suggests urgency, possibly driven by environmental violations or imminent system failure.

Contractor selection is underway, with the town seeking bids from firms willing to work in one of the state's most remote corners.