02-10-2014 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, February 10, 2014 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 26 of 30 (11. WATER SYSTEM STUDY/WATER SYSTEM MODELING – PRESENTATION, Continued) Struve stated at this point no agreement is in place with Long Lake but that historically water has gone both directions at various points, with Long Lake being fine with that arrangement in the past. Struve indicated Staff will need to clarify that prior to the tower getting repainted. Martini noted the report also recommends the two manual connections be eliminated. Levang asked how long the City can go without the second well on Highway 12. Martini stated the City has a certain amount of risk currently since it is running almost 24 hours a day. In the event of an emergency, the City would not able to supply water and would have to rely on water from Long Lake. Martini stated as long as there is an agreement with Long Lake that is an option. Martini stated that is certainly not the way it is recommended it be operated and that the City is taking a certain amount of risk that the well will not go down. Martini indicated a new well would provide some extra capacity and redundancy in the system. Levang asked if the Council should be thinking about conserving water given the fact that the well runs almost 24 hours a day. Struve stated that is something that can be considered to help reduce some of the usage and is something that can be brought forward if necessary. Martini stated due to the age of some of these items, they need to be taken care of in the near future. Martini indicated those items have not been a problem so far but that the City is not in complete control over how Orono will obtain water in the event of an emergency. Martini noted the one noncompliant item is the chemical storage. Currently they are located in the same room and from a permitting standpoint that will need to be corrected. Levang asked how long it is anticipated before the Navarre tank would need to be replaced or need major repairs. Struve noted that tank was just repainted in 2006 or 2007 and that typically you can expect 15 to 20 years before it needs to be repainted unless there is a major metal failure. Struve stated based on that, they should have approximately 10 to 15 years yet. Martini stated smaller tanks are generally replaced with larger tanks based on growth and that the tanks should last quite a while if they are regularly maintained. McMillan noted the amount of water usage went up significantly in 2012 and asked whether Staff knows the reason for that. Struve stated he would have to look into that but that a number of meters were replaced on the system in 2012. Martini stated typically huge variations have to do with irrigation.