Officials at the Brown County Water Improvement District (BCWID) report that the recent cold snap has not only increased demand for water in the area, but has slowed down the production capacity of one of the water treatment plants. BCWID General Manager Dennis Spinks said that water temperature in the older west plant hit an all time low of 6 degrees Celsius (which is about 42 degrees Fahrenheit).
“That cold of water is very difficult to treat,” Spinks said. “They (workers at the plant) have had some major problems treating that water, and they have had major problems with meeting the demand of our customers.”
Spinks said that the new microfiltration plant is better at filtering water at cold temperatures, but it is still only running at partial capacity due to equipment problems. The new plant is currently being used only as a backup to the older plant.
The west plant should be able to put 10 million gallons per day through it Spinks said, but at the colder temperatures, the plant can only treat between 4 – 6 million gallons through it per day.
“Once the water warms up, everything will be much better,” Spinks said.
Spinks said that recently about 7 million gallons per day went through the microfiltration plant and another 4 million through the west plant treating 11 million gallons in a day. He said that this is more water running through the plants now than on some summer days. The increase in demand is due partially to a large amount of water leaks being reported in the area because of the recent cold weather Spinks said.
The condition of the filters in the older plant is also a factor in its water treatment capacity. “They are in such bad shape that they are not able to filter the water the way that it should be filtered,” Spinks said.
District officials have been working for many months to get the new water treatment plant fully operational so repairs can be made to west plant. District officials report that parts to get the new plant fully online are on order and should be ready to install in 4 – 6 weeks.
