BY LUKE PHILLIPS
A high-water alarm was sounded at Holtville's wastewater plant on Kamm Rd. last week after a turbine motor shorted out and stopped working inside one of the water filtration wells at the plant, according to City Manager Alex Meyerhoff.
Meyerhoff told the city council Monday that the turbine pump started smoking and had to be shut down and temporarily replaced by a rental pump from Rain for Rent. Meyerhoff also informed the council that the plant's current pumps are only 2 years old, but are unfortunately no longer under warranty.
Turbine pumps have had a troubled history at the plant, having to be re-built several times after they were first installed in 2003 and then eventually having to be replaced in 2010. With a $24,000 price tag for each pump, the problem is a costly one and city officials are now looking at how to circumvent the problem when planned upgrades to the plant are being constructed.
City Engineer Jack Holt told the council that pumps could be placed closer to intakes in the new wells to prevent damage from vibration, which is what has caused most of the problems in the past, or the wells might possibly be removed altogether.
Holt says that a different treatment system may be used for the new plant, eliminating the need for turbine pumps, and bypassing the current system in favor of an ultra-violet light disinfection process. Holt says that the turbidity of the water coming from the plant would have to be very low for the plan to work, but it could also save the city on electrical costs as well.
The item was for information only and no action was needed by the council.
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