Sanitary engineer briefs county on Elm Road booster, polyphosphate addition and staffing

Paul Martin, Trumbull County sanitary engineering staff, presented a personnel action to hire Michael Sarchick as a draftsperson to replace a 2025 resignation; Martin said Sarchick is expected to start on Thursday.

Gary Newbrough, identified in the workshop as sanitary engineering staff, described a required change for the Elm Road booster station: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has directed the county to add polyphosphate to control scale. "The EPA has told us we need to add polyurethylphosphate to our water," Newbrough said, and the additional equipment and installation for that element was listed at roughly $7,400 in the discussion. He described the work as a feed system that meters milliliters per thousand gallons into the flow and noted ongoing chemical purchase costs after installation.

Commissioners and staff also discussed ensuring at least 60 PSI at the northern terminal of Mount Road, possible impacts on downstream pressure when diverting off the main line, and use of a temporary booster pump for a local business until the permanent system is in place. Newbrough said the booster installation is being coordinated with the larger State Road water project and that the polyphosphate feed is an addition to that work.

The workshop transcript records the staffing recommendation and the technical description of the polyphosphate system and associated costs; it does not show a formal recorded vote on the hire or construction spending within this workshop segment.