Dunkirk talks water woes (4/12/05)

DUNKIRK — Water — not beer — was on tap at Monday’s city council meeting here.

Second Chance Bar and Grill, which had been seeking council approval to have a beer tent at this year’s Glass Days festival, has dropped its plans, according to Mayor Sam Hubbard.

“As far as we know, the request has been withdrawn, which saves us a whole lot of trouble,” said Hubbard. “We, of course, had opposition from all the church groups.”

Instead, the council focused on continuing efforts to end the city’s problems with rusty water.

Dunkirk’s water plant, which was built in 2000, uses ozone as the reactive agent to remove iron and manganese from water drawn from six wells.

But that system, which is rare in Indiana water plants, has been largely ineffective and residents have routinely come before the council to complain about ruined laundry due to rusty water.

“We’re trying to take an approach that’s going to be cost effective,” said Steve Bender of Commonwealth Engineers Inc., Indianapolis.

The plant was designed by Bonar and Associates, Fort Wayne, and Commonwealth has been working with the city to try to solve its problems. To date, there have been no fees for Commonwealth’s work, although a contract proposal for engineering services is expected to be presented to the council this spring.

Richard Lautz of Commonwealth declined to criticize the design of the water plant, saying only, “We would not design it that way.”

Most water treatment plants in Indiana rely more heavily on filtration, with only three or four using the ozone method. The ozone method, however, is used in many water treatment plants in California.

Councilman Larry Smith noted that the Celina, Ohio, facility uses the ozone method. But Lautz indicated it may be more effective when treating reservoir water rather than well water.

Commonwealth’s initial proposal is to install a polyphosphate system which would help insure that any residual iron or manganese in water leaving the plant would stay in soluble form.

“It’s post-filter and pre-distribution,” said water superintendent Dace Mumbower.

Bender said the polyphosphate would need to be fed into the system just prior to final chlorination. It’s not expected to have any impact on taste.

Commonwealth recommended that Mumbower meet with chemical company representatives to discuss metering pump options and to perform some tests to see how well polyphosphates handle the problem. Installation of the polyphosphate procedure would require approval from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

“That sounds to me like a very reasonable approach,” said Hubbard. “Hopefully, it won’t cost us a whole lot of money.”

Lautz estimated it would take 30 to 60 days to determine if this is the right solution. “It’s absolutely the least expensive thing to try,” he said.

He also noted that deposits of iron and manganese in the water distribution system are also a problem and that the system doesn’t lend itself to being flushed on a regular basis. Commonwealth recommends the city develop the most accurate map possible of water mains and valves so that a better valve system can be designed which would move water more quickly and make flushing more effective.

The firm also recommends installing back-up power generators at the plant to handle outages such as those experienced in January’s ice storm.

On a more long-term basis, the city is likely to contract with Commonwealth to study how the water plant might be re-worked to provide greater efficiency.

The current system requires frequent back-washing of tanks, with the loss of large amounts of water. That water lost in the back-washing process must then be treated at the city’s wastewater treatment plant, creating further expense.

Hubbard, who estimated that 11 million gallons of water was lost annually because of the plant’s design, indicated he would prefer a system which put a greater emphasis on filtration and involved less back-washing of tanks.

At the mayor’s urging, the council again tabled action on a proposal to remove water rates control from the authority of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The council will take up the topic at its April 25 meeting. “There’s some further information I need,” Hubbard said.

In other business, the council:

•Approved hiring E&T Tree Trimming, Dunkirk, to clean up storm damage to trees in the city park at a cost of $2,500.

•Approved hiring contractor Virgil Taylor, Dunkirk, to install a new roof on restrooms at the park for $1,585, install an eight-foot roll-up door on the concession stand for $515 and complete electrical work at the park for $865.

•Authorized the purchase of a new roto-tiller at a price of $1,800, with the cost divided between the parks department and the wastewater treatment plant.

•Noted that May 13 is the deadline for applications for summer work at the Dunkirk Pool. Several applications have already been received.[[In-content Ad]]