by Geoff Fox
Town officials were given an update on where things stand with the water and wastewater usage and system over the last month at the April town meeting.
Public works has been “chasing” water leaks, Mayor Roland Lanehart, Jr. told council members, noting crews were trying to find a sewer line as well, but no one knew where it was located on the east end of town.
He said it was finally found, and “all is good there.”
Town Manager Mike Faith added on to the mayor’s statement with how Water and Wastewater Superintendent Carlton Parry had a member of his crew last summer organizing maps of the town’s infrastructure, which came in handy.
Faith said they couldn’t figure out where the sewer line was located in that area, so Hunter Ward pulled a map that was labeled and it showed a manhole cover in the middle of Main Street at Center Street and covered by about six inches of asphalt.
He said they pulled the manhole and cleaned it out, jetted it, and then located and fixed the leak.
With the Maryland State Highway Administration set to pave the east end of Main Street, Faith said on Monday if any other manholes are found when they mill the asphalt, it would be up to Parry to decide if the town would need the manholes, then the town would elevate the manhole to street level.
Councilman David Kerns added there’s another they think is in the middle of the street.
Councilman Josh McCusker said if the manhole were less than four inches, the state would be hitting it in the near future when the state comes in to pave Main Street.
Water and Wastewater briefs
Faith said the town used about 215,000 gallons of water per day last month, which is up a little bit from the previous month.
There are a couple known leaks in the system, which aren’t serious but do need addressed and could be expensive to fix.
Faith said the usage could be up because there was some nice weather recently and people were out washing cars or watering plants.
“Two fifteen [thousand] is a little high, but not, ‘Wow! We got a major problem here,'” Faith said. “We start pushing 300,000 gallons, we got a problem somewhere.”
He added that one of the town’s two pumps at the town’s well went down the weekend prior to the meeting, but it was fixed last Tuesday.
“The reason we have two obviously is in case one fails,” he said.
The pump itself is at the bottom of the well, however Faith said the wiring issue was found at the top of the well.
Four leaks have been detected already and crews have been using the new loggers town officials approved.
“They’re finding a few leaks here and there,” Faith said.
He added he and Parry are working to figure out which ones to prioritize and which to fix first.
Lanehart added Public Works is looking to add a device that is is basically a remote control car with a camera strapped on top, but specifically made for sewer lines.
Faith said with the current camera, which is still new, to get it further in the line, someone has to actually get down in the hole and some of the manholes, due to size and age, aren’t safe enough to get anyone into.
Faith said the remote vehicle would run in the $8,000 to $10,000 range, which is cheaper than someone one getting hurt in the manhole and sewer.
Faith also noted there were some issues with the aerators at the lagoon, but they’ve since been put back in service.
Faith also brought up about having a company come in and clear sewer lines of roots.
The company, Dukes, has performed the same work for the town in the past, and Faith said it was affordable, “relatively speaking,” and there is a guarantee attached. The herbicide is legal and non-toxic.
“They haven’t done anything for a while, but they gave us a list of the lines they’ve treated in the past,” Faith said.
Before moving forward and until the town can afford to replace lines, Faith said they would need to prioritize what lines would need the work first.
Storm drains to be fixed by state
Two storm drains on the east end of town have been marked by the state to be fixed, Faith said. Those two drains are by State Farm and the Legion.
A third in the Triangle parking lot has not been marked as the state says it is a private drain, however Faith said he doesn’t think it is and would be contacting the state to see if they could fix that drain as well.
In looking at the three drains from the Triangle to State Farm, they all line up.
“They’ll get those fixed before they start paving,” he said, which should be in the next couple weeks.
Faith said he was going to talk to the property owner and see if there’s a survey to show property lines and take that to the state showing where the drain lays.