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Chain reaction: Crash leads to water crisis

By David Gordon

GREENVILLE — A one-car accident caused a power surge that burned out three variable-frequency drives, which control the flow of water into Greenville’s system.

The accident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. A car struck a power pole on King Hill Road.

As a result of the power surge that occurred at the same time, “everything that was running in the plant just melted,” said Leroy Bear, who serves as water superintendent and maintenance supervisor.

Water pressure was down 14 pounds, Bear reported at the Town Board meeting on Monday night. One of the town’s two wells was working, along with one booster pump, and water pressure was maintained at more than the required minimum through use of the water tower, Bear said. The 60-foot tower provides pressure through gravity, rather than a pump.

Working with engineer Alan Taverner, Bear cannibalized equipment to get one of two pumps operating, he said. Pressures are back to normal. However, Bear said, he will notify the state Department of Health of the low pressure. Towns must notify the department if pressure falls below 20 pounds, he said. “The lowest pressure Alan and I found today was 22 pounds,” he said. “I will call them and let them know the incident did occur, and that I believe we held it at 22 pounds pressure at all times.”

“We have one well that’s working, we have our original booster pump that’s working and we have one secondary booster pump that’s working,” Bear said. “We’re missing one well and one booster pump.”

The three variable frequency drives will cost $2,600. The company that sold the town the original drives was the low bidder, Bear said. “We’re told it will take two weeks for parts to arrive. We did the work today in house, so that will save the town money.”

Brian Mulligan asked whether the town can sue the driver who hit the pole. Supervisor Kevin Lewis said he will be talking to the town’s insurance company to discuss whether the town has a case against Central Hudson for “sending us a spike.”

Along with the repair work at the plant, Bear will have a surge protector installed to prevent future damage.

Bear reported that water crews have flushed all the mains in Greenville Country Estates this month. He added that he will have to increase the chlorine in parts of the system to counter the summer’s heat on the water tower, which “eats up the chlorine.” With the return of cooler weather in fall, Bear said, he can cut back on the chlorine. However, even with the increase, the chlorine content is at half the maximum the state recommends.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has given approval to a water main extension that will bring a main directly to Greenville High School, Bear said. The school now receives its water from a connection to the elementary school on Route 32. In addition to providing better service to the high school, the new main along Route 81 will increase usage in that part of the water system and prevent water in the pipes from becoming stagnant.

The low bid, from E.J.P. of Clifton Park was $12,369 for the 640 feet of pipe that will be needed, Bear said. The town is supplying the pipe, and the school district will pay for installation, which will probably cost more, he added.

In his sewer report, Bear said the plant is running well. This month the wastewater was sent to two labs for testing, to be sure the numbers were accurate. The labs’ reports were very close, and the numbers were good. The sewer plant is currently under a state Department of Conservation consent order because of past tests that showed excessive impurities in the treated wastewater.

A group of inmates from the Greene County Correctional Facility, which has been preparing the cultural center, located in a former church, was unable to work outdoors because of recent rain. The inmates shifted their work to the sewer plant, where they began painting the interior, Bear said. Repainting the interior is one of the items on the DEC’s consent order, he said. The inmates are doing a great job on both the former church and the sewer plant, said supervisor Lewis.

Earlier in the meeting, the board voted to accept a bid from Lanco Corp. in Michigan for a sand filter for the sewer plant. The filter is a backup, required by the DEC to assure that unfiltered water won’t leave the plant if the main filter breaks down. The additional sand filter, which will require an 18-foot addition to the building, will also allow the plant to operate at its maximum capacity of 58,000 gallons per day. It is now operating at about 14,000 gallons per day. The second-hand unit will cost $8,500, plus $1,500 shipping, Lewis said. That’s a saving of $37,000 over the $47,000 cost of a new unit.

In response to a question from Brian Mulligan, Lewis said the sand filter is a “final polishing” of water that is already cleaned. However, the DEC requires the final filtration and redundancy - hence the second filter.

Should the sewer district expand to require treatment of 50,000 gallons or more, Lewis said, the extension would allow for the installation of a third filter to act as a backup.

“It won’t make the water any purer, but it will get us out from under the consent order,” Lewis said. “If our sand filter does fail, we will be able to continue to operate. Basically, the filter we have can handle 50,000 gallons per day, but without two of them they would never let us grow to that level.”

Lewis noted that Country Estates is still selling homes, and that the town could accommodate additional businesses within the sewer district. However, he said, there are no plans at present to expand the district beyond its current borders.

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