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SALEM – The utilities commission discussed recent issues with water line breaks in its August meeting.
Following a recent water line break on Ellsworth Avenue and several other line breaks throughout the summer previously, Utilities Commission Chair Bob Hodgson asked if there was any theory "about what's been going on the make this summer so heavy" with line breaks. Water Distribution General Foreman Brian Hall said that while he felt the summer's hot temperatures and dry ground was likely playing a role, the primary culprit was the age of the pipes in question.
"I think the ground is so dry, and with the hot temperatures the water temperature in the pipe has got to have something to do with it. But you know, it's just old pipe, it's late 1800s pipe there," said Hall.
Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey asked if there was any plan in place to begin replacing the oldest and most problematic lines, much of which are over 100 years old, to curtail pressure issues and blowouts caused by their age.
"Is there a plan in place at some point to start replacing those so we don't continue to have these blowouts and pressure issues… it seems like we put a lot of money into repairs, and this one was not too far from where we just had one. Maybe it's time to look at those things on the water end so we don't keep having that," said Dickey.
Hodgson said that the department had investigated the cost of replacing the problematic lines in the past and found doing so would cost approximately $110 million. Utilities Superintendent Butch Donnalley also said the piecemeal replacements also wouldn't be recommended due to the number of couplers that would be required, and replacements of that nature were typically done on a street-by-street basis.
Hodgson ultimately said that while he understood the department's current "patch-as-it-goes" approach is frustrating, it had done some replacement in the most critically affected areas, the price to address the root issue is presently too costly.
"The cost to redo what we need to do to correct the whole issue is prohibitive right now and from our standpoint it makes more sense to patch as we go," said Hodgson.
Hodgson also said that Salem's line issues were shared by every municipality with water lines of a similar age.
"Salem's not alone, every city in the United States that was built before 1960 has problems with their stuff in the ground," said Hodgson.
During his report Water Treatment Plant Manager Larry Sebrell said that water levels at the city lake were "about normal," at only 1 foot and 10 inches down, and that he reached out to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to request permission to drill a well near Little Beaver Creek. Sebrell also said that while the city's main reservoir at East Cold Run had remained clear, the Spring Valley Reservoir is experiencing heavy algae growth, describing the reservoir as "mojito green."
To combat this issue Sebrell said he was researching the possibility of purchasing white amurs, a type of herbivorous fish often stocked in lakes to control plant growth, for the reservoir to help combat the algae issues. Hodgson said that amurs can each grow to several feet in length, and that he is familiar with other lakes where amurs had been stocked for the same purpose.
"The fish get pretty huge, about three to 3-and-a-half feet long, they're like a torpedo in the water," said Hodgson.
Hodgson and Donnalley also requested Sebrell get a quote for another SolarBee unit, a type of solar powered pump-float currently used to combat algae bloom at both reservoirs.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Manager Dean Stokes said that cleaning the plants anaerobic digestor as part of phase three upgrades had been more difficult than anticipated and came with a larger price tag than initially planned. Stokes explained that the digestors had contained roughly three times more material than anticipated by project engineers, requiring additional operators, equipment, and time to complete the cleaning.
"There was a lot more material inside that digestor than what the engineers had estimated, so it was a little more expensive," said Stokes.
The department had initially budgeted $75,000 for the cleaning, however, with the higher volume of material the true cost wound up being approximately $250,000, for an additional cost of $$175,000 beyond what was initially budgeted.
Progress remains stalled of the East Cold Run rip-rap repair project, with approval still pending from the OEPA; however, the long-stalled approval is expected to come in September.
Hodgson also said that there had been some improvement in the department's ongoing efforts to update its insurance premiums to match the increased valuations of the department's assets.
"The good news is we're closer to getting this thing straightened out. I did meet with the Auditor [Sal Salvino], he's called the carrier, the carrier is supposed to be sending a representative in to sit down and meet with us and go over this whole thing. The number of, I'll say conflicts to be nice, have decreased but we've still got some things that we're not seeing," said Hodgson.
The utilities commission will next at 4 p.m. Sept. 19.