Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sewer And Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council reviews sewer meters, SCADA changes and drafts sump-pump enforcement resolution
Summary
Mantua officials discussed portable sewer-meter purchases, SCADA integration for new sensors, a plan to replace galvanized service lines, and directed staff to draft a resolution imposing penalties for sump-pump discharges into the sewer system.
Mantua Town Council members spent a major portion of the meeting reviewing options for sewer monitoring equipment and discussing enforcement for improper sump-pump discharges.
Town staff presented two portable sewer-meter options and recommended testing a portable Manaray unit before committing to fixed installations. A staff member said one vendor quoted roughly $3,805 and another proposed about $6,000; staff said a $7,000 budget would allow purchase of a meter with a data logger and a cellular option if needed.
The matter matters, staff told the council, because the town continues to find galvanized and other aging service lines that present toxicity and failure risks, and because point repairs and meter placement affect long-term operations and the town’s SCADA (industrial control) system.
Council discussion and direction
Councilors and staff debated whether to buy portable meters first to test locations and radio/cellular coverage, then install stationary units if the portable units performed well. A staff member said portable units could be locked to a pole and later attached to the SCADA network via a repeater or cell plan. “I’d like to get two portables and try it,” the staff member said, arguing that two smaller units could meet needs at lower cost than a single in-manhole system priced at about $15,000.
Council also heard from staff about corrosion and galvanized service lines discovered at several homes, including work tied to Ken Foote’s property; staff said crews will start replacement work and that outside funding appears available for at least some of the replacements. The council received a map showing 20 major point repairs prioritized for near-term work.
SCADA and chlorine-scale integration
Engineering correspondence included a note from the town’s SCADA vendor (IED) that adding new sensors such as the chlorine-tank scale would require SCADA modifications. Staff said modifying SCADA could save money in hardware but would require configuration changes and possibly additional repeaters or transmitters.
Sump-pump discharges and enforcement
After discussing sample ordinances from other districts and the town’s ongoing sewer problems, council members asked staff to draft a formal resolution to penalize discharge of sump pumps into the sanitary sewer. Council direction called for a resolution with a $5,000 baseline penalty and a continuing $100-per-month charge until the violation is corrected and cleared by public works; staff was asked to research whether the penalty belongs in an ordinance or the summary of fees and to return with a draft.
What’s next
Staff were directed to pursue portable meter purchases, continue prioritizing point repairs, coordinate SCADA changes with the vendor, and prepare the proposed sump-pump resolution and any necessary ordinance edits for future council consideration.
