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Walsburg treats water supply after mapping error; SCADA alarms, backup battery flagged
Summary
Council heard that a mapping error during the recent water-line work pushed chlorinated/stagnant water into the distribution system; crews flushed and treated lines and the town will have a technician repair SCADA false alarms and evaluate battery backup.
Councilmember Troy Thompson reported that recent work on the town’s water system caused chlorinated, stagnant water to be drawn back into the system when crews failed to locate a valve during cutover to a new tank.
“What they did was…they were trying to pump water into the old tank and pump water into the new tank and they couldn't get it up the hill, so they pushed all that stagnant water that was chlorinated… and that sucked everything back into the system,” Troy told the council. He said crews opened hydrants and flushed lines, added measured chlorine doses and circulated water until chlorine readings fell to acceptable levels.
Troy said the upper tank is being continuously treated while crews finish cutting customers over to the new lines so sections aren’t left stagnant. He told residents they may “taste a little bit of chlorine for a little bit” while the system clears.
Councilmembers also discussed persistent false alarms on the SCADA (remote monitoring) system and a nonworking battery backup observed during a recent power outage. Troy said he has scheduled a SCADA technician to correct the false alarms and that the town may receive a bill for that work. The town is also reviewing whether the telemetry battery backup needs replacement.
No regulatory action was reported at the meeting; the council’s direction was operational: continue flushing and chlorinating as needed, complete customer cutovers carefully to avoid stagnation, and authorize SCADA and backup-battery repairs once staff receives cost estimates.
