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| PUA still not selling water |
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| Written by Brian McCauley | |||
| Wednesday, 07 October 2009 07:00 | |||
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Money is getting very tight for the Marais des Cygnes Public Utility Authority, and officials are still trying to work out a series of issues with the new plant before it’s able to start selling water to Paola and Louisburg. Plans to have the plant come online by Memorial Day were pushed back to July and then have continued to be pushed back each month as crews wrap up construction and personnel try to work out the kinks of operating a new water plant. Meanwhile, the PUA continues to lose out on the revenue it will begin to accumulate once water is sold to Paola and Louisburg. The delays were discussed Monday morning at the water plant during the monthly meeting of the PUA Board of Directors, which is composed of officials from both cities. Louis Funk of Bartlett & West Engineers, the company that designed the project, said one of the biggest problems is the turbidity level of the water currently being treated at the plant. He explained turbidity as the “dirtiness” of the water. Water plant operators have been struggling to get the levels below the state maximum of 0.30 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU). It’s something Funk said shouldn’t even be close if the filters were working properly. “We shouldn’t be trying to get just below KDHE standards,” Funk said. “That’s the part that bothers me.” It’s just one of a number of issues discussed during Monday’s meeting. Funk said the plant’s MIOX sodium hypochlorite generation system is severely corroded, and the manufacturer has already committed to replacing it. Manual valves on both the carbon dioxide and ozone supply lines need to be replaced with automated ones, and larger polymer feed pipes are needed, among other issues, Funk reported. Paola continues to purchase water from Miami County Rural Water District No. 2 and Louisburg continues to get water from its own plant, but until PUA water is sold to the cities, the PUA’s revenue supply will continue to take a hit. PUA board members Monday approved a list of expenditures for plant operational items totaling about $38,000, which PUA Treasurer Dan Droste said took the operational account down to about $15,000. A project financial analysis as of Aug. 31 reported a shortage of about $99,000 in the construction account and a positive amount of just over $63,000 in the operational account, leaving a shortage in the net cash position for project expenses of about $36,000. Most of the shortage likely will be made up via liquidated damages, Droste said. Lead plant operator Mark Allen said he would try to meet the PUA board member’s goal of getting water sold to the cities this week, but he also said it depends on a lot of different things working out. “I never give up, I’ll keep trying until I get it right,” Allen said. “Nothing is ever set at a water plant. We are constantly making adjustments.” Paola Mayor Artie Stuteville asked Funk on Monday if the plant problems are normal, and Funk said its common for a water treatment plant to have issues during the first few months of operation, but he also said he understands the frustration with the current situation. “We are all equally frustrated,” he said. In other business at Monday’s meeting, the PUA board members: Entered into executive session to discuss liquidated damages for work that exceeded the original contract days and then reconvened the meeting and approved the designation of Aug. 21 as the substantial completion date for the project. Approved a payment of $455,819.83 to Walters-Morgan Construction for construction of the water plant, leaving about $260,000 left to complete the contract. Approved a final payment of $10,300 to Pyramid Excavation & Construction for constructing the water intake off the Marais des Cygnes River. The payment completes the contract. Approved a payment of $20,700 to Courtney Construction for seeding. Authorized Louisburg Administrator Jeff Cantrell to spend up to $500 on shrubs for landscaping at the water plant site, which is located southeast of Paola near the intersection of 343rd Street and Victory Road. Agreed to pay Walters-Morgan Construction $5,162 to cover seven hatch openings in the water plant roof between the ceiling liner panel and the roof panel. Agreed to pay $4,853, with Bartlett & West adding an additional $1,500, to replace manual valves on the carbon dioxide supply lines with automated ones.
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