WEST WARWICK SEWER COMMISSION
SEWER SUBCOMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021 @ 3:00 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Council Vice President Williamson
Town Manager Mark Knott
Assistant Superintendent Jeff Chapdelaine
Director of Administration Christine Suvajian (Absent)
James Geremia, James Geremia and Associates
A motion was made to approve the October 7, 2021 minutes by James Geremia and seconded by Town Manager Mark Knott. All in favor none opposed.
The following is taken from the Plant Manager’s report data from October 2021 and through November 24, 2021.
October
· October is the end of our permit season which runs April through October.
· There were no facility violations during the permit season. He congratulates and thanks the Operations, Maintenance and Electrical staff for keeping us within our parameters.
November
· Average daily flow was 5.5 mgd with a maximum of 11.7 mgd and a minimum of 3.0 mgd.
· CBOD removal was 98%. DEM requirement is 85%.
· TSS removal was 98%. DEM requirement is 85%.
· Total Nitrogen is out of season.
· Total Phosphorus was 0.86 mg/l. DEM requirement is 1.0 mg/l.
· Sludge to Synagro was 352 wet tons. Sludge to Landfill was 122 wet tons. Total sludge was 474 tons. Synagro had an issue with a pump and was closed for a couple of days.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked where we stand on the sludge removal budget. Mr. Chapdelaine said he didn’t know but he thinks we will exceed the limit because we have been using the Landfill throughout the year more than we had projected.
· Mr. Knott asked what the rough cost difference is between the two. Mr. Chapdelaine said he thinks Synagro is $86 per ton and the Landfill is approximately $140 per ton.
· Mr. Knott asked if there are any other options. Mr. Geremia replied no, because we don’t compost anymore due to odor complaints and running out of space. Cranston has an incinerator but they have contracts because they’re run by Veolia.
· There was a brief discussion about the differences between dewatered sludge and liquid sludge.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if we could get an incinerator. Mr. Geremia explained you’d have to deal with air pollution regulations and it takes a lot of expertise to run an incinerator. Plus, we already have a whole crew dedicated to solid sludge. You would need more manpower to deal with the liquid sludge.
· Mr. Chapdelaine said he and Ms. Suvajian met with a company about this a couple of months ago. The company first suggested composting which we’ve already done then they recommended we buy land in Coventry and pull permits there to do incineration but it didn’t seem cost effective.
· Mr. Geremia said because of the manpower and equipment you would need you’re better off to just farm it out and budget accordingly.
· There were 2 public line block ups:
1. Main Street
2. Junior Street
· There were 2 private line block ups:
1. Colonial Way
2. Queen Avenue
· There were 4 odor complaints.
1. 4 from Fernwood Drive
· As of November 18, 2021, there were no facility violations.
· We have a maintenance position open. We have four potential candidates for the Assistant Superintendent’s position and hopefully we’ll begin interviewing in the next couple of weeks. We also have an office manager’s position open.
· There was a brief discussion about odor complaints and what causes odors and whether or not to shut down the scrubbers for the winter.
· FY22 Year-to-date operating and debt expenses as of November 30th totaled $4,713,526 which is 50% of the annual budget.
· FY22 Sewer Use and Sewer Assessment Revenue collected as of November 30th totaled $4,061,861 of which $37,041 represents interest.
· Cash and Investment balance as of November 30, 2021 will be reported at the next Sewer Commission meeting.
· Cintas Shoe Mobile: After coordinating with our contracted uniform company, Cintas, I am pleased to announce they are visiting the WWTF and DPW with their Shoe Mobile Vehicle at no extra cost following Town procedures and the Union Contract.
· The employees get a stipend of $200 per year for boots. Instead of having them go out to get them, the Shoe Mobile Vehicle will come to the plant and the employees can purchase their boots right from their truck.
· There was a brief discussion about the changes in the union contract in regards to uniforms.
· Sewer Excavating Services Contract Bid: At the end of the year our Sewer Excavating Services Contract with Nunes Construction will be expiring. Mr. Nunes will be letting the Town know in the next couple of days whether or not he would like to extend the contract for one more year. If he does not want to renew, we will be going out to bid.
· Council Vice President Williamson stated we’ve extended with Nunes a few times already. We should double check with Ms. Suvajian and verify we can still extend this contract. Mr. Chapdelaine said he will check on that.
· There was a brief discussion about the transition and training of the new office manager and Ms. Suvajian’s availability.
· There was some discussion about Ms. Suvajian’s budget documents and spreadsheets and the budget process in general.
Significant Industrial Users
· Noramco, Warwick Ice Cream, Amtrol, Immunex and Bradford Soap all submitted their self-monitoring reports.
· Warwick Ice Cream had a violation in September because they exceeded the limit for oil and grease. They were issued a Notice of Violation and instructed to retest.
· In October, Noramco had a violation for Acetone. They were issued a Notice of Violation and an Administrative Penalty of $100 and instructed to retest. In November, they were in complance.
· Construction at Amtrol is moving along.
· We were unable to inspect Bradford Soap due to their Covid policy.
Private Wastewater Treatment Facilities
· Line cleaning at East Greenwich Square was conducted and the general condition of the line was good.
Food Service Inspections
· Several Food Service Inspections were done in November and most were in compliance.
· The grease recovery trap in Heong’s Market meat department was found to be broken and decaying and no maintenance records were available. We issued them a fourth Notice of Violation and an Administrative Penalty of $500.
· The grease recovery device at Cowesett Subway was non-operational and there were no maintenance records. A Notice of Violation and an Administrative Penalty of $100 were issued.
· The grease recovery device at Alex Pizza was non-operational and there were no maintenance records. A Notice of Violation was issued.
· The permits for Famous Pizza and the N.Y. System were expired and new permits were issued.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated we have received both the repaired pump and the new pump. The repaired pump (#2) was installed two weeks ago and we are currently working on the plumbing for that. Once completed, all three pumps will be operational. Once pump #2 has been up and running for about a month we will remove pump #3 and replace it with the new pump. At that point I will see what it will cost to repair pump #3 and put that into next year’s Capital budget.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated we are still waiting for the parts to come in but for now it is still operational.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked about the boiler that was replaced. Mr. Chapdelaine replied that boiler became operational earlier this week.
· Mr. Geremia stated we came in under budget on both of these projects.
· Mr. Chapdelaine stated during the boiler replacement they found some of the plumbing and other stuff was not satisfactory so I had them replace these with new parts while they were here. I haven’t received that quote yet but because we were under budget I felt it made sense to do this.
· Mr. Geremia stated now that we have potential funding he and Mr. Chapdelaine will look at what it will cost to do the repairs and create a budget.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked if we need to go out to bid. Mr. Geremia replied it depends on the extent of the work. If pumps need to be bypassed this may be too big a project for us.
· Mr. Geremia stated the Screw Conveyors and the Water Meter Chamber really need to get done this year. We know we are overbudget but these will qualify for the Covid funding.
· Mr. Knott said one of the predominant Municipal uses for the American Rescue Funds is sewer infrastructure and he would like to move aggressively forward on this. He thinks grit screws, conveyor belts, pumps are all infrastructure necessary for sewer treatment. He said taking care of some of these big-ticket items will free up Capital and potentially put us in a position to save some projected Capital and allow us to keep our rates from going up.
· Mr. Geremia asked the amount of the budget. Mr. Knott replied $8,600,000, of that, $4,000,000 of is going to be very restricted. We will also be getting more money in 2022.
· Mr. Knott stated he will be asking the department heads to submit a list of their Capital needs with the proposed costs then he will have a workshop with the Council to prioritize the items on the list.
· Mr. Geremia and Mr. Knott suggested taking care of all the Capital Projects now.
· Mr. Geremia stated the Primary Clarifiers are at a point where they both have to be replaced. We have one in this year’s Capital budget but we’d like to put them both out to bid at the same time.
· Mr. Geremia recommended awarding these Capital items now and Mr. Knott agreed.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked for the cost of the Primary Clarifiers. Mr. Geremia said he thinks it was $450,000 to $500,000.
· Mr. Knott said to present these Capital items at the next Sewer Commission meeting for approval and the funding will come from the American Rescue Funds.
· There was further discussion about the caveats of the American Rescue Plan Fund and the timeline of some of the Capital projects.
· Mr. Geremia stated there is an issue at the Maisie Quinn pump station. The check valves are not working. We will need to hire a mechanical contractor to do this work and it is definitely infrastructure.
· Mr. Knott asked if this is separate from the Maisie Quinn Connector project. Mr. Geremia and Mr. Chapdelaine replied it is separate.
· Mr. Knott asked for prices on any other infrastructure projects that are being projected for next year.
· Mr. Chapdelaine provided the Subcommittee with a list of the 23 concerns detailed in the report along with the status of each item.
· Item #5 – KCWA hydrant was discussed. Mr. Geremia stated KCWA will not allow us to tie into their hydrant because of the risk of contamination. He briefly explained the process and the risks.
· Council Vice President Williamson and Mr. Knott asked if we can construct or install our own. Mr. Geremia replied it’s not really critical.
· Council Vice President Williamson asked about CMOM. Mr. Geremia stated it is a yearly report that we submit.
· Mr. Geremia stated the cleaning of the interceptor is budgeted for this fiscal year.
· Mr. Knott asked about addressing the problem of infiltration. Mr. Geremia stated we have to identify it first. As we clean sections of the interceptor we will camera it also to see if it’s leaking. If it is we will repair it.
· Mr. Knott asked about doing a wide-scale testing to identify the problems then utilize the recovery money to fix the biggest problems. Mr. Geremia replied we could do an inspection in the Spring then identify a corrective action. He said he can get some quotes from companies that do flow monitoring and metering in the system to identify locations.
· There was some discussion about the age of the system, the amount of flow and the cost of repairs.
· The members discussed what the next step should be in regards to the items listed in the report and when it should be brought before the Sewer Commission.
· It was decided that Mr. Chapdelaine would present it at the December 21st Sewer Commission meeting with a breakdown and status of each item.
· The meeting schedules were reviewed and they will be presented at the December 21st Sewer Commission meeting.
None
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by James Geremia and seconded by Mark Knott. All in favor, none opposed.
Please refer to audio recording for detailed information.