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Plainfield board showcases scuba-cleaning of water-storage tanks, honors two staff licensures
Summary
Utility Director Jeremy Hunsicker showed a video of scuba divers cleaning two water-storage tanks and recognized employees Bo Wilson and Scott Aaron for earning operator licenses; Hunsicker said the method reduced out-of-service time compared with full takedowns.
At the Jan. 26 Plainfield Utility Board meeting, Utility Director Jeremy Hunsicker presented video of scuba divers cleaning the Quaker Boulevard water tower and the Southwest ground tank and recognized two employees who recently earned operator licenses.
Hunsicker introduced Bo Wilson and Scott Aaron and noted Wilson earned a WT3 license while Aaron earned a WT3 and a Wastewater Operator 2 license; the board applauded. Hunsicker then played a video showing divers wearing full helmets with lights and communications gear that allowed them to talk to personnel in a ground work trailer.
He said the two tanks shown were cleaned in December and that the service generally allows the town to keep the tanks in service during cleaning. "For the two, it took them all week," Hunsicker said, and he added the contractor should be able to do roughly one tank per day on subsequent visits depending on sediment levels. Hunsicker contrasted that with a full out-of-service cleaning: "At a minimum, I would say it’s probably a two-week process if there isn't a lot of repairs that need to be done... it's not unheard of for them to be down a month plus." Board members asked clarifying questions about the timeline and praised staff for the work.
The board discussed scheduling the remaining two towers for spring cleaning and said it will reassess the interval for future cleanings based on sediment accumulation. During board comments, Mr. Brandgard thanked Department of Public Works crews for responding to a water-main break that required overnight work; Bridget and Hunsicker praised the crews and suggested producing a short video to show the challenging field conditions.
No formal vote was required for the operations update; the board accepted the report and will consider scheduling and budgeting for future cleanings as part of normal operations.
What happens next: Staff plans additional tower cleanings in spring and will monitor sediment levels to set future intervals.
