Update May 30, 2010

MDES will be doing our well testing that has previously been done by Lane and Western.  They can do the same tests and arrive at the necessary conclusions to be sure that our wells are properly maintained.  This is a savings to the department of $6,000 annually.

All piping has been properly relocated and installed at the wastewater upgrade and the SSM building foundation has been poured and is ready for masons.  It can be expected that the building will be near complete within five weeks. 

At the clarifier location, six 40-foot deep pumps and two 50-foot deep pumps have worked to lower water levels for excavation.   With water levels under control, construction of the clarifier has started.

All phases of construction are now moving along as planned and they should be able to maintain a schedule to completion in May of 2011.   The project is about 25 days behind schedule at this time. 

Investigating for our GSI mapping, Jeff Pennington found a buried manhole on 10th Street across and South of the Nursing home.  The manhole has never had maintenance and over a foot of tree roots and debris were found in the bottom.  Diligence is required in gathering information for our infrastructure maps, which is almost complete.

MDES has turned the water on at Settlers Ridge Subdivision, and it is being tested and is charged and ready to go.  Should the fire department require use of the hydrants to fill tankers, it is available.

The sewer line project North of Oregon is nearing completion, and Martin Bush is installing the pressurized line to our gravity system. The Blackhawk Steak Pit will be the first to connect to the new sewer.

Included in the Court House renovation is the disconnecting of storm water connections from the City sanitary sewer.  FN Smith and the Oregon Post Office have recently disconnected, and this will have a big impact on storm water entering our wastewater plant.  Meeting EPA requirements about combined sanitary discharges into the Rock River has been complicated and expensive, but we are confident that when the wastewater upgrade is complete, unauthorized discharges should be eliminated.