Sigurd council hears plan to fix chlorination and tank plumbing; contractor work to begin

Sigurd Mayor Kelly Halvey and council members spent more than an hour on May 21 discussing a multi-part plan to fix long-running chlorination problems and plumbing between the town's new and older storage tanks.

The discussion centered on persistent failures in the town's gas-chlorine feed system and a large pressure differential across a valve near the chlorinator that has kept chlorine from consistently dosing the water. A utility technician who presented the plan said the town could add a small booster pump on an existing 1-inch bypass line and replace the current pilot/"clay" valve with an electronically actuated altitude-control valve tied to the tank level.

The technician said the changes would increase line velocity through the 1-inch PVC bypass so the chlorinator's venturi can pull gas chlorine reliably. "A small booster pump could be put on that 1 inch bypass," the technician said, and the altitude-control valve would open at a chosen set point (for example, when the tank level drops about 3 to 4 feet) and then close when the tank fills.

N…