2006 Water Company Report
Prepared By Bill Manser
January 13, 2007
This was an active year for the water company though it started off simply enough. Beginning shortly after the last annual meeting the major priorities were replacement of the electrical metering box for the power company meter at pump house two our primary supply pump which meters all the electrical power we receive from JCP&L. This was accomplished with the generous help of
George Kuchler, who volunteered the services of himself and his electrical business at a reduced rate for services to the community.
At the same time it was our intention to replace some of the mechanical gauges that monitor water pressure either because they are inconsistent or showing signs of age such as degeneration of the casings and other such effects.The meter box was replaced but some difficulties with frozen valves or clearance problems prevented some of the gauges from being replaced at this
time.
About this time we decided to finish the upgrade of the wiring in pump house one that added a pressure control system to the operation . cleaning up the wiring and so forth which was also done with the help of George and sorted out after the wiring was redone to allow pump # 1 to operate using the pressure switches that Newton and Jim Irving had put in place and which Jim and I finished the installation of the pressure feed line for at an earlier date. After some initial problems which Newton cleared up the pressure switch was then operational.This turned out to be a timely operation as would be evident later in the year.
Also around this time the VSA schedule and changes in contact information were given to Terry Dwyer for inclusion on the MKL Website as a convenience for the use of the VSAs .This volunteer group is the backbone of our water company operation as they selflessly give their time to the reading and recording of vital statistics that the state requires us to report and do a daily check of the chlorine and main pump operation that helps us to discover if and when a problem occurs and greatly facilitates a response if anything is out of the ordinary and needs to be corrected.
A storm in the end of April caused a dead tree to fall and take out all our wiring including both the power feed from the electric company and the control wiring from the tanks. The power company worked overnight and had the three phase 220 power circuits repaired and the transformers replaced by the early part of the next afternoon around 2:00 . Our licensed operators from AGRA came over for the startup to make sure there were no problems with the pump operation such as incorrect reconnection of the wiring . When the pumps were tested around 3:00 all seemed to be in order . While this restored power to the system the pump controls were no longer in place as the power company does not repair private wiring only their own system components. Fortunately we had the new pressure control in operation and were able to switch over to the pump in pump house # 1 which proved to be up to the job once the level in the tanks was restored to full .The notice of water restriction that we put out was only necessary for the approximately twenty four hour period during which the pumps were either not in operation or refilling the tanks and normal operation was restored by the following evening though it was necessary to keep close tabs on the system
and run the main pump which was not in automatic operation manually until a timer switch could be put in the circuit as a temporary option pending connecting the main pump to the pressure switches in pump house one.
With the exception of the one event at the clubhouse scheduled during this period #1 pump was able to keep up with demand and during the event I ran the pump manually to ensure the water supply was up to the needs of the unusual draw.As a result of this accidental experimental period we now know that pump # 1 can handle the needs of the system in an emergency or planned shutdown of the main pump with pump # 2 not in operation. Once full pump operation was restored after George once again helped us to wire the main pump house into the pressure control circuit in pump house one the main pump went back on line supplying water to the system and the pump in one went back to a timed operation the way the system has normally operated. After this it was a short process to determine the correct pressure levels for maintaining the water supply in the tanks. Ken Heiden noticed that the chlorine pump in the main pump house did not seem to be running during one of his shifts as a VSA and it was determined that the ground in the circuit was most likely the culprit along with the prolonged periods of non operation when it was not running on automatic. Once this was fixed the chlorinator has run properly except for one time when it lost prime and needed to be restarted.A spare chlorine pump was obtained as a backup for those in operation at
this time as well.
Relatively little out of the ordinary took place after this emergency and what was necessary to correct it. There were the usual calls for mark outs when members were contemplating work that might involve digging in the vicinity of the water lines with the usual difficulties encountered where the actual location of service lines were not mapped by previous owners when
installed or from a shutoff valve not having been operated for a prolonged
period.
There were a few people who were concerned about possible low water pressure or who experienced some condition such as dirty looking water when they returned from a long absence. Some of this might have resulted when the level in the tanks was low during the water service outage as was the case most likely for the Bridge property which is located so close to the tanks that their water pressure is mostly from the level in the tanks themselves not from the full capacity of the system. Cliff unfortunately was not on the emergency call list at the time and did not receive the warning about the power outage but was placed on the list shortly after when he asked about the water pressure at his house. Some areas of the system are either lower or higher than others and the pressure that is normal in those locations is dependent on the height of
water above the point of service.without raising the storage towers there is no way to increase the water pressure throughout the system and some residents have used home based pressure tanks to solve this problem with mixed success.
Another potential emergency occurred when Bruce Chalfant and the Bonars and the Murrays all noticed water overflowing from the tank outlet and coming down Alpine trail on occasion. This turned out to be a stuck part that was supposed to self clean in the pressure control feed line and which eventually kept the pump in operation after it should have shut down when
the tanks were full. The cure for this problem required disassembly and cleaning of the portion of the pressure switch line that gives the pressure indication to the pump control and was accomplished in a few hours reassembled and back in operation.
One other event that could be called an emergency occurred when the Merendas
were replacing their wall and it was found that the service line was actually embedded in part of it where it was accidentally caught and damaged. The curb stop was easily located but was so stiff it almost could not be closed. Once this was solved there were no more water system problems for that incident.Mick has volunteered to run a survey of existing curb stops which should help solve the problems associated with some that are difficult to find or were accidentally covered up in landscaping or other alteration of the location where they are supposed to be located. It is our intention to also exercise the valves when they have been located if possible to determine if
they are all operable .The Water committee has been looking into those upgrades that can improve the system or that have been put off as a result of the dam and dredge project which we had determined was of a greater priority over the last few years than the wish list of possible changes for the water company.
Considerable discussion and consultation has taken place recently to determine what is necessary to be done or what would be desirable as well as catching up with some of those things that have been put off over the past few years.This is not to say that the water system has any problems and once again this year we passed the periodic inspection without any black marks and the testing process shows no violations or even close to any are inherent in the system or the water we provide.