Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drinking Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Water department says 'F' grade driven by aging towers, manganese complaints; rehab and generators planned
Summary
Water officials told the council the department received a failing letter grade due to infrastructure deficiencies and customer complaints about manganese; officials outlined tower rehabs, generator installations and communications plans to improve ratings.
City water officials told the council the failing letter grade the system received reflects both infrastructure issues and citizen complaints about discolored water (manganese), and outlined work planned to raise the grade.
Mister Snead, a water department representative, said inspectors deducted points primarily for aging storage towers and infrastructure needs identified in past sanitary surveys, and for complaint calls related to manganese. He described a program of rehabilitation: Linwood tower rehab is nearly complete pending a pump part, work on other towers is scheduled, and replacement or rehabilitation of ground storage and booster generators is planned.
"The generator project...we are going to be putting generators at our booster stations that require electricity... and then the rehab of all of our water towers," Snead said. He told the council that completed projects (Linwood, Seventh And Pines ground storage) and upcoming tower work should materially improve the infrastructure component of the grade.
On manganese, Snead said the department will add equipment at the treatment plant to give staff more flexibility to address taste-and-odor and mineral complaints that are tracked by the state Department of Health; some deductions resulted from LDH complaint inspections. He said the department will boost communications, including press releases, website updates and interviews on the public-access channel to explain work underway and planned improvements.
Council members urged frequent public updates, asked for status reports on the Linwood tower paint and functionality, and recommended partnering with the city's public-access channel for outreach. Snead said Linwood's external work and painting are finished and the crew is waiting on a pump to complete chlorination and fill for testing.
Ending: Officials said they hope the generator and tower rehab program will improve the letter grade next year; the council requested regular public communication and monthly status updates on major infrastructure milestones.
