Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994 TAG: 9403250103
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
That will be part of the town's report April 7 to the Peppers Ferry Regional Wastewater Treatment Authority, which treats sewage from Pulaski and Dublin.
Last month, the authority notified both towns that they were exceeding the amounts of water allocated to them to carry their wastes to a regional treatment plant. Under their agreements with the authority, the towns must either provide plans for reducing water use or halt building permits for construction that would increase sewage treatment.
Pulaski Town Council, meeting Thursday as Finance and Utility committees, agreed to buy a $13,463 van for the inspection equipment it will acquire. That equipment includes a mobile television camera that can move through utility lines and transmit pictures showing where there is deterioration or damage.
Council will ratify the action at its next regular meeting April 5. It will advertise for bids April 3 on the equipment, receive bids April 15, and complete installation of equipment in the van June 15.
Councilman Andy Graham said that timetable was not fast enough. He suggested hiring extra employees on a temporary basis to find and fix the problems.
"We don't have to sit on our haunches till we get the TV," he said. "We need to start hiring some competent help."
Councilman Don Crispin suggested temporary caps on manholes where water is being lost. Even if they cost several hundred dollars and have to be removed later, he said, they would make economic sense if the system is losing $9,000 worth of water a month.
Town Engineer John Hawley said he doubted that the manholes are the source of the losses, and he did not want to invest in something that would be wasted if it turned out that lines had to be relocated.
He pointed out that the town has spent $318,555 on curbing the leakage of ground water into cracked lines and removing illegal connections that fed water into the lines. So the problem was not being ignored, he said, even before the letter from the authority.
Hawley said the town will begin its study on further repairs in the Wurno area, where about 420,000 gallons of water per day are being lost. The report to Peppers Ferry will stress concentration on this area, which could make a major difference in the amount of water.
Graham said equipping the van and other preparations would take too much time.
"It's kind of hard to get a timetable without a camera. That's the biggest thing," Hawley said.
by CNB