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| Conserve Water Mandate Remains in Effect for Lowville While Village Coordinates With Kraft Heinz on Solutions 08/15/17 04:45pm |
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remains in effect for users of the Village of Lowville water system. Department of Public Works (DPW) Superintendent for the village, Thomas Compo, told linkinglewiscounty.com that as of this morning the reserve level is up to approximately 1,875,000 gallons of water in the 3 million gallon reserve tower. That puts the level at 12 1/2 feet in the 20 foot tower, after the system was able to bank some reserve over the weekend. The critical level, which prompted the water conservation order, is reached anytime the reserve drops below the 10 foot mark (1.5 million gallons). Mayor Donna Smith said that while the level is up some, the mandatory conserve order remains in place due to the current flux in water usage. During the week demand can spike, which in turn draws water from the reserve. Mrs. Smith also pointed out that it is likely because of conservation measures in place that a little bit of ground was able to be made up over the weekend. Mr. Compo stated that he met with officials at Kraft Heinz on Monday, where the village and its largest water user coordinated scheduling. Mr. Compo said it is important for the village to know when Kraft Heinz has production lines shut down so maintenance can be performed at the water filtration plant during those times. According to Mr. Compo, Kraft Heinz has instituted some short-term measures to help out with the current situation, such as not cleaning multiple production lines at the same time. "They want to be a good neighbor and are doing what they can to help address the current issues the system is facing," Mr. Compo said. A number of factors have led to the problems facing the village's water filtration system, which we covered in the article linked here. Mr. Compo said he could foresee the mandatory conserve order lifted at some point in the coming weeks, but said a voluntary conserve order would likely need to remain in place until a long-term solution is implemented. Kraft Heinz is expected to have a polished water system in place sometime in September, which would allow for up to 150,000 gallons of water a day to be recycled at the facility to use during the initial phases of equipment cleaning. The company is currently working with the NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) to get the proper certification for the system. In a July 18 letter to village officials, NYSDOH officials warned that current usage rates were unsustainable for the village's system. They recommended that short-term solutions would be for Kraft Heinz to install a reserve tank on- site that would even out the rate at which they draw water through the day, and installing a flow valve at the water plant to be able to limit the amount of water sent to Kraft Heinz when needed. A potential long-term solution would be to add an additional two sand filtration beds to the four currently used at the filtration plant. This would likely lead to the need to increase the capacity of the holding reservoir where the water is treated after filtration. The water issue is expected to be discussed when the Lowville Village Board of Trustees hold their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, at 5 PM, at the municipal office on Bostwick Street. |