Dunkirk boil order lifted (10/28/03)

DUNKIRK — A boil order has been lifted for water customers here after completion of work on the city’s reservoir tower.

Rust conditions in the tower were worse than expected, Dunkirk water department Supt. Dace Mumbower said Monday.

And the bill to correct the situation reflects that, Mumbower told city council members.

“The bill is significantly higher” than it was expected to be, Mumbower said.

The original estimate to have the large reservoir tank power-washed and cleaned by Leary Tank Company, Greenfield, was $1,800. However, Mumbower said the firm’s final bill totaled $13,620.

Council members unanimously agreed to pay the higher bill after Mumbower explained why the extra work was needed.

The city had been under a boil order for drinking water purposes since 11 a.m. Oct. 20 when the cleaning and maintenance work at the tower began. Mumbower lifted the boil order this morning.

Late last week, assistant city water department superintendent Howard Fisher said that the water reservoir tank had been cleaned on the inside, and then resurfaced with a new wax coating applied to the inside of the tank. It was in the process of being filled with water once again Friday morning.

"It's just about full again," Fisher said, noting that two positive tests had to be taken for water quality before the boil order could be lifted.

"It was pretty rusty inside," he added.

When the new ozone treatment plant was designed, it was set up to pump 600 gallons of water a minute, but it was not able to treat water that fast. The filters and treatment equipment could not keep pace with the amount of water being pumped through the system, and consequently rusty water got into the reservoir tank where it collected on the bottom, Fisher said.

There were no real problems encountered with the draining and power-cleaning procedures. However, there was "more cleaning" needed than originally anticipated, Mumbower said.

"It was pretty rusty down in the flute of the bowl" of the large reservoir tank and it took longer than expected for workers to get that area clean, Mumbower said.

Mumbower said that during the last week, he had been in contact with the city's consultant on the operation of the ozone system at the plant.

"It's gotta help to get all that rust out of there," Mumbower said.

When workers drained the tank last week and started to clean it, they were standing about one-foot deep in rust sediment, city officials reported.

Since the tank was already drained, it was economical to do the extra cleaning work last week, explained Connie Whetsel, council member in charge of the water department. “Hopefully, this will make a difference in our water,” she said.

In other business at Monday’s meeting, council members:

•Set a special meeting for next week to review price quotations and information, aimed at demolishing at least three of what is left of the downtown buildings at the southwest corner of Main Street and Lincoln Avenue.

Council members agreed that they would like to demolish and clean up the former city police station structure site and the two buildings to the west of it, as quickly as possible, so that Lincoln Avenue could once again be opened to traffic.

City officials said that demolition companies would be called to submit new bids. They added that asbestos levels for those three structures were found to be within acceptable levels.

The special meeting was set for 5 p.m. next Monday, Nov. 3, in city hall.

•Referred a request to extend the city’s cable TV franchise agreement with Insight Communications for 15 more years, to city attorney William Hinkle for study.

•Noted that trick-or-treat hours are 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, and special light sticks are available for youngsters and parents to pick up for free at the city police station. The cost of the light sticks is being shared by the police department and Westlawn School Parent Teacher Organization.[[In-content Ad]]