New water plan will reduce rust,
evenly disperse chlorine
By William Kincaid as printed in the Daily Standard February 9, 2008
ROCKFORD--A new $2 million water plant scheduled for construction in 2009 will reduce rust and evenly distribute chlorine in Rockford’s water supplies, village officials learned on Friday morning.
Village Administrator Jeff Long and village employee Tom Beahrs met with project manager Brice Schmitmeyer of Fanning/Howey Associates, Celina, to discuss the plan to be built on the corner of Franklin Street and Panther Alley.
Schmitmeyer said he will submit design plans to the Ohio EPA within the next month. Village officials hope to award a bid contract by the end of this year with construction starting sometime soon after.
“We’re going to be a lot more efficient on this,” Long said about the new plant in comparison to the current facility.
In addition to the improved water quality, the new plant would use 25 percent less salt than the current plant--an annual saving of at least $15,000.
According to preliminary designs, the proposed 2,000-square-foot plant would have two water pumps, each pumping 292 gallons per minute. The inside would include a main plant area with a 14-foot painted steel ceiling, painted concrete block wall, a sealed, waterproof concrete floor and a chlorine room. Those at the Friday morning meeting also talked about the possibility of installing a 200-gallon salt tank that would provide 90 days of storage compared to the current plant’s 50-gallon storage system.
Also, the chemical feed system would be comprised of a pre-chlorination pump, a post-chlorination pump, polyphosphate pump and an additional spare pump.
To fund the estimated $2 million construction project, village officials will try to secure $500,000 from the 2008 Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the Ohio Department of Development. They also will seek a 40-year, 4 percent loan through the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development program.
Once the project is initiated, village officials plan to install residential water meters. Residents now pay a uniform monthly water bill of $65--regardless of how much water they actually use.
