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Director reports wastewater consent order, source mitigated; lead-and-copper verification and two customer-side water incidents noted
Summary
Director Justin told the board the PSA is under a consent order for high ammonia at a wastewater plant (effective Jan. 30); staff identified and mitigated an adjacent property discharging products believed to cause increased ammonia. He also updated the lead-and-copper verification (119 remaining locations) and reported two customer-side water incidents that temporarily added roughly 50,000 and 60,000 gallons per day to treatment plant flows.
Director Justin reported that the PSA entered a consent order for high ammonia at a wastewater plant on Jan. 30 and that the order will be monitored for the next six months to ensure no further violations.
Following routine sampling, staff identified an adjacent property discharging products into the sewer system that likely caused elevated ammonia readings at the Reiner wastewater plant. Justin said staff contacted the site, the party mitigated the discharge, and monitoring will continue to confirm the issue is resolved. When asked whether the discharge would stop, Justin said the property operators "guaranteed us that they quit" and staff will continue spot checks.
Justin also updated the board on the lead-and-copper service-line verification effort: about 119 locations remain to be verified and staff verified 64 locations during the last month; he expects verification work to finish by June, which would reduce the need for certain customer notification letters. He added the staff will proceed with planned water sampling at schools and childcare facilities.
The director described two customer-side incidents that increased flows at local plants: a burst service line at South Star in Elliston that added about 50,000 gallons per day to the Elston plant, and a failed cooling-tower line at Auburn High School that added about 60,000 gallons per day to the Reiner plant. Staff identified and notified the customers and the issues were addressed.
The board discussed staffing and force-projection planning for operations, and Justin said he is reviewing staffing and will return with recommendations. Members thanked staff for the proactive monitoring and the quick identification of the sources.
