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Wastewater supervisor flags aging pump stations and $66,000 quote; staff exploring cheaper communications and energy‑offset program
Summary
Water/wastewater supervisor Jeff Moer told trustees the village’s 14 pump stations use mixed, aging controls and presented a $66,000 vendor quote for one station; staff plan to negotiate communications alternatives and examine a voluntary energy‑offset program that could pay $90,000 per megawatt.
Jeff Moer, the village water and wastewater supervisor, told the board that many pump stations have been patched piecemeal over the years and rely on mixed vendors, older control panels and a mix of float and transducer level sensors.
"There's 14 pump stations throughout the village," Moer said, explaining that some stations have advanced SCADA and telemetry while others still rely on older float systems. He noted the problem station near the apartments uses an outdated control system and has had repeated control failures.
Moer said Aqua Logix provided a quote to upgrade the problematic pump station and related communications; the number in the supporting report was reported at about $66,000. He said staff had located an alternative communications approach for a neighboring State Street station and expects to reduce the quote by roughly $10,000 through those changes.
On energy management, Moer said he had engaged JMI Consultants to look at a voluntary demand‑response program. "If you do it, they give you $90,000 for every megawatt you offset," he said, describing a program that notifies participants on days of high demand and pays for voluntary load reductions; staff will review the consultants’ report and consider operational adjustments (for example, shifting water production to off‑peak hours).
Moer also said 80 replacement cellular meters are expected this week and that Chris Schmidt from Badger will visit to review software updates and installations.
Why it matters: aging controls and mixed vendors complicate operations and emergency response; the quoted upgrade is significant for the utility budget, and the demand‑response program presents a potential revenue/offset opportunity if the village can adjust operations.
Next steps: staff will continue negotiations with vendors on the quoted work, review the JMI report on the energy program and return with recommendations and more refined cost estimates.
