Machine to make repairs easier
Staff writer
After months of stopgap measures to minimize water valve issues and trying to work with dysfunctional machinery, Peabody public works superintendent Lucas Larsen will get an electronic valve exerciser to lighten his load.
Valves normally are open to allow for water flow, but they have to be shut and reopened occasionally to stay in good condition, Larsen said.
“You’re basically moving it so it doesn’t seize up,” he said.
Without a functioning valve exerciser of its own, Peabody has had to borrow Hillsboro’s multiple times over the past few months.
“What I like about us having one is that on days where you’ve already read water meters, filled potholes, and it just happens to be a convenient time, you can spend an hour and exercise some valves,” Lindsay Hutchison said. “That’s why I like having one, and it’s small enough that it’s something you can store easily.”
The exerciser also has a digital device to track how many turns have been made and what position a valve is open to.
“It’s a lot easier to keep track of valve turns on that than when you’re struggling with a valve,” Larsen said. “That thing would be very handy for us.”
The machine costs $7,332.35, and an added $492.30 for a valve key that is adjustable between four and nine feet long.
“I know he has extra money he hasn’t spent for equipment this year,” councilman Travis Wilson said. “I think it’s something we really need to get.”
Additionally, the city has two locations needing resurfacing along Walnut St. after water leaks were taken care of. One of the holes, at N. Walnut and E. Second Sts., is large enough to fit a car in. The other is in front of Peabody Hardware and six feet across but is mostly filled in. They will have to be filled with rock and resurfaced with asphalt.
Apac engineering estimates repairing both spots will cost no more than $5,513 total, Larsen said.