Meeting held to hear about city water
Approximately 20 members of the Florence community met Friday afternoon with Chris Cox, representative of Schwab-Eaton Engineers, to hear the status of their water plant upgrades.
The current Florence water system was designed by Reiss and Goodness, engineers of Wichita, 10 years ago to incorporate a "bag filtration" system. The system has not performed as promised and has cost the city $25,000 to $30,000 a year in replacement bag filters; a hefty debit in the water department's budget.
Turbidity (most simply put, murky, dirty water) levels have remained a problem, causing frequent "boil water" advisories in the community. Florence gets its water from a spring north of town. After heavy rains, dirt and sediment overwhelm the system and get into the water supply.
In 1999, Florence applied for a second water grant to replace the bag filtration system and was approved for a more reliable micro filtration system. The new project will include the construction of a clear well and gutting the current water plant building to install the automated equipment which will be housed there.
Cox was in Florence at the request of the city council and City Superintendent Stuart Funk to explain to the community why the project has already taken four years, with no completion in sight.
One of the problems that Cox noted was a 14-month pilot test required by the state. The pilot test was needed to obtain data about Florence water to be put into a report for KDHE. The data is to used to make a determination about approving the system for the community. The test showed the KDHE what equipment would work best for Florence. (Cox noted that a pilot test was not required before the installation of the bag filtration system.)
Cox also said that some of the delay on the Florence project was the result of personnel changes. Several engineers had come and gone, which created problems.
"I'm not trying to make an excuse here," he said. "I confess that we shoved this project to the back burner on more than one occasion. But there were some problems with personnel and with the state. When those arose, our office moved on to work other communities while waiting for answers about the Florence water project. We couldn't just put every other city on hold while we waited for this project to move forward."
Cox said he had just returned from the KDHE offices in Topeka and needed to work with Funk to obtain two additional pieces of information, and then the project could be put out for bids by the state.
He hoped that everything could start the first week in May, with construction beginning in July, and completion in late September or early October.
Cox warned the city and the group of citizens that even after the new filtration system is installed, the turbidity problem won't magically go away.
"There will be good water going into the system," he said. "But you have years of sediment built up in your water tower and your pipes and the infusion of new water won't make that disappear.
"People in your community need to understand that two, four, or even six months down the line, they may see that in their water," Cox continued. "Stuart will have to maintain a rigid schedule of flushing the lines in various parts of town in a continual effort to remove 60 years of built-up sediment."
Cox said the water system will need some operator intervention, but should be automated enough to mostly take care of itself. He said the system also will save the city money. At $700 each, the membranes are more expensive to replace than the bags of the current system, but they should last five to seven years. The city is currently spending up to $30,000 a year on bag replacement.
"It has been a long haul for you guys," he concluded. "But the end is in sight for your water problems."
