Week of 9/26/11 at the Water District and Water Pollution Control District

The Port Washington Water District (PWWD) Commissioners and Port Washington Water Pollution Control District (PWWPCD) Commissioners meet every week.  These meetings are open to the public.  The Superintendents of each District attend the meetings and often the respective Districts’ engineer and lawyer attend as well.

Recent goings on at the PWWD:

• A new treatment pump is being designed for Bar Beach Well No. 6.  Community residents have been involved in approving the design plan and landscaping.
• The District continues to monitor illegal installation of underground irrigation systems.  Before installing an underground sprinkler system contact the Water District about getting a permit. 
• The District will be updating its procurement policy to better reflect current pricing of services and materials. 
• Neulist Well No. 1 remains offline as the District continues to rehabilitate the well as a result of rust build up.  This well is 52 years old and is showing signs of age including test failures due to evidence of bacteria in well samples over the summer.  Until the source of the problem is identified, a solution cannot be approved, though a number of options are on the table including modifying the existing well and drilling a new well nearby.  Before the Board adopts any solution a contractor will be hired to clean the well with an acid/chlorine mixture at a cost of approximately $28,000 in the hopes that will remedy the problem.  This procedure is used by the Suffolk Water Authority prior to bringing any new well on-line.  The Neulist Well is one of the few North Shore wells drawing from the Lloyd Aquifer, Long Island’s deepest and oldest source of water. 
• The Commissioners received a request from the Port Washington Parks Conservatory for the District to release to them a 1-acre piece of property adjacent to Stannards Brook Park that is under the jurisdiction of the District.  The Commissioners are weighing their options.

Recent goings on at the PWWPCD:

• The District received its Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP) results from the New York State Department of Health.  The ELAP certifies the accuracy of laboratory testing used by the Water Pollution Control District.  The District passed in all areas certifying the accuracy and reliability of the lab testing used by the District. 
• The District changed its charging policy for treatment of out-of-District pre-treated leachate or liquid remaining after removal of solids. Instead of charging out-of-District users for leachate treatment based on flow rates, the District is charging an additional amount based on treatment of nitrogen over levels established in the Sewer Use Ordinance.
• In response to a letter regarding the need for a backflow valve for a basement bathroom, the Commissioners had an interesting and informative conversation about the circumstances under which a backflow valve is necessary for basement plumbing projects.  In this case, the Commissioners determined that a backflow valve is needed for the basement bathroom per the Town’s building code.  Homeowners also need to comply with the District’s Sewer Use Ordinance. 
• The District’s Business Manager, Helen Chen, reported that she is following through on the necessary steps to obtain reimbursement for the District’s costs related to Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene from FEMA.  FEMA will only reimburse amounts in excess of what insurance covers. 
• The meeting adjourned to executive session to discuss prospective litigation regarding the Port Washington Landfill to which the PWWPCD and PWWD are potential parties.

It is not unusual for the Water District and Water Pollution Control District to cross paths.  One of the recent instances of that happening was in relation to the work being done on Mill Pond Road to replace the sewer lines.  While working in the area, the PWWPCD discovered that a six-inch water main was 10 feet south of where it was thought to be and thus in the way of the sewer force main routing plan.  After inspection, the Water District determined that the water main in the way of the new sewer lines needs replacement.  The two districts are working together to share the cost of the replacement and to complete the work quickly so as to limit the delay in the laying of the new sewer lines.  Also, the two Districts have reached an agreement regarding payment and coordination of sewage treatment of waste byproducts from the Water District’s nitrate treatment station at Well No. 4.  If the treated waste does not impact the PWWPCD’s nutrient levels, there will be no cost to the Water District.

Current and Comparative Water Usage for August:

Month

5 Year Average 2006-2010

Average Daily Demand

High Day

Date

August

168,536,000

5,077,839

7,573,000

08/01/11

955,637,800 (year to date/YTD)

August Pumpage  2006

August Pumpage  2007

August Pumpage  2008

August Pumpage  2009

August  Pumpage

2010

August Pumpage  2011

171,853,000

161,934,000

164,305,000

149,680,000

194,908,000

157,413,000

942,824,000 (YTD)

978,192,000 (YTD)

996,702,000 (YTD)

841,362,000 (YTD)

1,019,109,000 (YTD)

976,500,000 (YTD)