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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 27, 2015 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 17 of 21 PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR/CITY ENGINEER’S REPORT (continued) Edwards reported the Public Works Department has continued to perform pothole repairs throughout the City, completed tree trimming at some of the parks, and held the City’s annual spring cleanup day, which was successful. In addition, the first major phase of the water plant has been completed, which unfortunately resulted in an issue. Edwards noted he sent an e-mail to the Council yesterday regarding the issue at the water plant. Edwards stated the City experienced a fluoride over feed in the water system. Edwards indicated the system came back online on Friday after a four-day hiatus following installation of new piping and electrical. Edwards indicated he received a call on Sunday morning that someone was nauseated and smelt a chemical smell with their water. Water samples were taken and the water was found to be high in fluoride. Edwards stated the City was required to send that sample away to a lab since it was beyond what the City was able to test for. Following that, the Public Works Department received another call from a resident located on the northern side of the Sugar Woods development and their water tested well within normal limits. Edwards stated they were able to isolate the issue to the southern side and the fluoride system was shut down, the water tower tank was drained, water mains were flushed, and the system was refilled. Once that was completed, another round of testing was done in the area and the levels were found to be within the tolerances. The affected residents were told to flush their internal systems. Edwards stated as a secondary precaution, the Public Works Department did go over to the school and tested the water there, which was found to be fine. Edwards stated the root cause of the incident occurred because the fluoride system, when it was reinstalled, was running continuously rather than only when the main well turned on. Edwards stated once the City was notified of the problem, Public Works coordinated with the MN Department of Health to correct the problem and that he also spoke with Poison Control and informed them of the City’s plan of action. Edwards stated actions performed today was to have the contractor back out to review the situation. No final plan of action has been arrived at this point in time and the fluoride ejector is currently off until the City can be assured it is working properly. Edwards stated the City’s spring cleanup day was successful and that the Public Works Department hauled away 151 loads from Orono, 34 loads from Long Lake, and four loads from Minnetonka Beach of various recyclable or disposable items. The Public Works Department also trimmed or removed another 15 trees in the last couple of weeks. In addition, 15 tons of asphalt has been put down on the road to fix potholes. Edwards stated the roads in some cases are in pretty dire straits but that the Public Works Department will continue to plug the holes as they come up. McMillan asked if they are still doing some blade patching. Edwards indicated they have done one small blade patch so far this year but that it is not a precise way of laying down asphalt and it only has a one-year life. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 05/11/2015 Approval of Council Minutes 04/27/15 [Page 17 of 21]