MINUTES
UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
JULY 19, 1999

Mayor Margo G. Bailey called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. In attendance were Councilmembers Harrison C. Bristoll, Jr., Thomas A. Gross, Sr., Mabel Mumford-Pautz, and J. Brian Kirby, Medford C. Capel, Utilities Manager, W. S. Ingersoll, Town Manager, Joan Merryman, Stenographer, and guests.

Mayor Bailey asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of the previous meeting. Mr. Bristoll moved that the minutes of the meeting of June 21, 1999 be accepted as presented, seconded by Mr. Gross and carried unanimously.

Mayor Bailey announced that the Utilities Commission has cash on hand and in banks on July 19, 1999 of $343,872.30.

Mayor Bailey called on Mr. Gruber who had asked to be on the agenda. Mr. Gruber stated that two weeks ago he noticed water pulsing through his faucets and uneven pressure on the water flow. He said he discussed this with Mr. Capel and asked if the cause had been determined. Mr. Capel said he had someone come to investigate the problem and found that a snubber on the pressure control needed to be replaced. He said the man did not have the part and it has been ordered and will be installed as soon as it is received. Mr. Gruber said the pulsing had gone on for two weeks and in his opinion when there is a pulsation like that where the pressure pyramids at the ends of line, it can cause leaks. He said the pump motor would also not run efficiently. Mr. Capel said he had not noticed the problem, did not feel it had caused any problems, and they have had no leaks.

Mr. Gruber said he also wanted to ask about dissolved solids in the drinking water. He said he cleans the aerators on his faucets and gets grit out of them. Mr. Capel said we do not nor are we required to test for dissolved solids. He said if there are any in the water, they probably come from the lime added to the water, or from the cleansoid which is a zinc and phosphorous compound which is holding the iron that comes from the mains or water lines. He said the cleansoid treats the inside of the pipe to keep any iron in the water in suspension. He said it does do any harm to anyone. Mr. Gruber asked if Mr. Capel would agree that he had been bringing in samples of these solids for years. Mr. Capel agreed Mr. Gruber may have done that.

Mr. Gruber said about 15 years ago when he started to build apartments he showed the grit to Mr. Capel. He said in the apartment building he put in a fluted paper filter to filter all the water coming into the building to prevent the maintenance required on faucet aerators. He said six months after he built the building he was getting complaints about the grit in the water and he was still getting those complaints. He gave Mr. Capel the sample of the grit removed from the faucet that day. He said he has replaced three fluid master tank filters for toilets in his house in the past 15 months as they all had the grit in them. He said even at Ridgeview the paper filter does not take the grit out, it was soluble salt that goes through the filter and then settles out in the lines and aerators. He said everyone was also drinking that. He said he had asked that it be analyzed in the past and was again asking that it be tested to be sure of what it was.

Mr. Capel said he uses the same water, has lived in the house for 35 years, has never cleaned one of the faucets in 35 years. He said he has no problem with the hot water heaters. He said our water meets all of the State's regulations including lead and copper. He said there was only one house that did not meet it and that was Mr. Gruber's because they did not use enough water to get the chemical in there to treat the pipe. Mr. Gruber said he would like an analysis of the water to determine if there are dissolved solids in the water, what they are chemically, and an analysis of the grit he gets out of the aerators. Mr. Capel asked that Mr. Gruber bring the grit samples in to the office the next time he gets them out. Mr. Capel said that when you heat water you also change it chemically and he asked Mr. Gruber if the grit was coming from the hot or cold spigot. Mr. Gruber said he had single faucets and could not tell. Mr. Capel said he will have the tests done.

Mr. Capel said that the chlorine detector and the sulfa detector have arrived and they should be installed at the end of the month. He said the chlorine regulators we purchased from Annapolis were here and will be installed at the end of the month. Mr. Capel said we ordered a new set of scales for the 150 lb. chlorine cylinders at the water plant and it has been installed. He said when we get the cover on the reservoirs we will not be using as much chlorine as it will not evaporate as much.

Mr. Capel said he had given the Council some information on a sand filter for the lagoon. He said that filter takes the nitrogen out of the water and that was one of the requirements for Biological Nutrient Removal compliance. He said he had also given the Council some information on the grease traps and would be discussed when the Council determines what requirements they want in the Ordinance. He said he had gotten information from an organization that makes up the rules and regulations for grease traps in cities or counties and the cost ranges from $28,000 to $48,000. He said we will probably do our own rules.

Mr. Capel said that Mr. Ingersoll would be discussing the letter from MDE about the Biological Nutrient Removal. He said he had discussed building a third pond to hold the effluent for two or three months, or we can have it flowing over a certain amount of land. He said we would only have to get rid of the phosphorous and chlorinate and then dechlorinate the wastewater. He said we may have to take the sludge out. He said a few years after the ponds were created, we had 15 or 16 inches of sludge. He said the pond was turned over once and it went septic. He said then they 6" pumps which pumped the water up in the air and aerated the pond. He said after the aerators were put in it took care of the problem and reduced the sludge in the ponds down to an average of 8 to 10". He said we should probably get an engineer to do a plan. Mayor Bailey asked about the sludge bugs. Mr. Capel said they do not work in the winter and may die off and add more nitrogen into the pond. He said you can use ferric iron and the algae will settle out, but that causes the pH to go down and that is something that has to be measured and then you have to add soda ash to balance it out.

Mayor Bailey asked if the water was holding up or did we need to take measures to conserve water. Mr. Capel said there was no problem with the amount of water. He said we have charts which tell how much water we pump. He said one day last week we pumped 1,020,000 gallons and the last two days we been averaging about 900,000 gallons a day. He said he did not see any problem unless a pump goes bad.

Mr. Ingersoll discussed the letter from MDE which discussed the violations of the BODs. He said he had drafted a reply to the letter explaining our efforts to remedy the violations. He explained that the BOD's had dropped significantly since we put in the aeration system in 1993. He said one of the mitigating factors is that we have done something to improve the situation. Mr. Ingersoll said we cannot cure the turnover which occurs when the temperature changes in February and March and the sludge at the bottom turns over and come up causing the BOD count. He asked that the Council approve the Mayor signing the letter he had drafted to MDE. He said we will probably get a consent order that states that within 3 years we have to correct the situation. He said a second mitigating factor or waiver would be to sign a Biological Removal Agreement. He said the agreement had been reviewed by Mr. Barroll and said it was a weak contract and only shows intent. Mr. Ingersoll said the agreement had been given to the Council for review previously and he recommended the the Town sign the agreement. Mayor Bailey asked if anyone had a problem with either the letter or the BNR agreement. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the Mayor be authorized sign the letter and the BNR agreement and was seconded by Mr. Bristoll. Mr. Kirby asked if we anticipated any of the fines discussed. Mr. Ingersoll said he did not think so they just wanted to get our attention. He said he thought we would get a consent order that means we agree to do certain things in a certain amount of time. The motion carried by unanimous vote.

Mayor Bailey asked the Council to review the bills. Mrs. Mumford-Pautz moved that the bills be paid as presented, was seconded by Mr. Kirby and carried unanimously.

Mr. Kirby moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:07 p.m., was seconded by Mrs. Mumford-Pautz and carried unanimously.