City of Exeter to replace wastewater treatment component
May 29, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
At the regular Exeter City Council meeting on May 15, the council approved a motion to purchase a new sand filter for the city’s wastewater treatment facility. Currently, the two sand filters used at the facility are not functioning, causing city employees to have to bypass the filters entirely.
The purpose of a sand filter in wastewater treatment is to pass water through it in order to remove any solids, therefore reducing the chance of contaminated water reaching outside water sources.
The city’s sand filters have been malfunctioning for sometime, as it has been a recurring item on the council’s agenda for several months. Now, with both filters completely removed from function, the city moved to take action.
Since the sand filters are not functional, the wastewater treatment workers are bypassing that step and moving wastewater directly to the chlorine basin for the chlorination process for sanitation. That cleaned water is then released into the creek.
Over the previous month, city employees began seeking bids from parties interested in the necessary repairs. In the end, only one company answered the call. Aqua-Aerobic Systems, the wastewater system’s original manufacturer, agreed to rebuild one of the filters.
According to the head of Exeter’s wastewater department, Alan Frantz, Aqua-Aerobic Systems was the only company to offer these repairs as other manufacturers were unwilling to work on a different company's system. According to Frantz, the company will rebuild one of the machines, adding new pieces to replace the broken ones, while keeping the functional components intact.
This process will cost the city a total of $16,573. According to Exeter city clerk Myrna Eisenbraun, funds will come from the city’s water depreciation and replacement budget, though its removal will leave the city with little other funds for water repairs.
To combat this, Eisenbraun will make efforts to double the amount of money that is usually deposited into the account on a monthly basis. Currently, $204.17 is deposited into the account monthly from city water bill payments.
In the meeting, Frantz stated in an effort to keep the cost of the project down, the sand and water that is currently housed within the filter will be removed by the city instead of a third party.
During the meeting, the council approved the funds to rebuild the filter. According to Frantz, Aqua-Aerobics will begin the rebuilding process eight to ten weeks after receiving the order.
For more information on this or other municipal projects, contact Exeter City Hall at (417) 835-2823.
Vinnie Roberts
At the regular Exeter City Council meeting on May 15, the council approved a motion to purchase a new sand filter for the city’s wastewater treatment facility. Currently, the two sand filters used at the facility are not functioning, causing city employees to have to bypass the filters entirely.
The purpose of a sand filter in wastewater treatment is to pass water through it in order to remove any solids, therefore reducing the chance of contaminated water reaching outside water sources.
The city’s sand filters have been malfunctioning for sometime, as it has been a recurring item on the council’s agenda for several months. Now, with both filters completely removed from function, the city moved to take action.
Since the sand filters are not functional, the wastewater treatment workers are bypassing that step and moving wastewater directly to the chlorine basin for the chlorination process for sanitation. That cleaned water is then released into the creek.
Over the previous month, city employees began seeking bids from parties interested in the necessary repairs. In the end, only one company answered the call. Aqua-Aerobic Systems, the wastewater system’s original manufacturer, agreed to rebuild one of the filters.
According to the head of Exeter’s wastewater department, Alan Frantz, Aqua-Aerobic Systems was the only company to offer these repairs as other manufacturers were unwilling to work on a different company's system. According to Frantz, the company will rebuild one of the machines, adding new pieces to replace the broken ones, while keeping the functional components intact.
This process will cost the city a total of $16,573. According to Exeter city clerk Myrna Eisenbraun, funds will come from the city’s water depreciation and replacement budget, though its removal will leave the city with little other funds for water repairs.
To combat this, Eisenbraun will make efforts to double the amount of money that is usually deposited into the account on a monthly basis. Currently, $204.17 is deposited into the account monthly from city water bill payments.
In the meeting, Frantz stated in an effort to keep the cost of the project down, the sand and water that is currently housed within the filter will be removed by the city instead of a third party.
During the meeting, the council approved the funds to rebuild the filter. According to Frantz, Aqua-Aerobics will begin the rebuilding process eight to ten weeks after receiving the order.
For more information on this or other municipal projects, contact Exeter City Hall at (417) 835-2823.