By KEVIN NEVERS

To date the Chesterton Utility has spent in the neighborhood of $30,000 to repair and replace equipment damaged in a power surge on Oct. 26, when a motorist struck a NIPSCO pole on Woodlawn Ave. near North Eighth Street.

So Superintendent Steve Yagelski told the Utility Service Board at its meeting Monday night.

At the moment the Utility is in discussion with its insurance carrier, which has advised that the Utility is unlikely to get replacement costs for the equipment, after it pays a $1,000 deductible.

Member John Schnadenberg did want to know why the emergency generators at the wastewater treatment plant didn’t activate at the moment of the surge.

Because, Yagelski said, those generators are linked to the SCADA automated computer control system and the SCADA was fried instantaneously.

But why, Schnadenberg asked, are the generators linked to SCADA in the first place?

Because, Yagelski said, there is such a great power draw by the plant that SCADA is programmed to put various systems on line in sequence.

“That’s a little concerning,” Schnadenberg replied.

For his part Member Scot McCord wanted to know why there was a surge in the first place. “Couldn’t it have been suppressed somehow?” he asked.

Schnadenberg said that it “might be worth a phone call” to NIPSCO to see if there is anything that can be done to prevent a future surge.

Smoke-Testing

in the Downtown

In other business, Town Engineer Mark O’Dell advised the Service Board that it will be necessary, sometime next year, to conduct smoke-tests of the sanitary sewer system in the Downtown in advance of the long-postponed replacement and separation project.

The point of such smoke-testing would be to identify inlets and downspouts illegally connected to the sanitary sewer system. Those inlets and downspouts are a “major source of infiltration,” O’Dell said.

To conduct such smoke-testing, the Utility would have to acquire some necessary equipment, and O’Dell promised to provide the Service Board with quotes in the near future.

Overpays

Meanwhile, members voted 4-0 to endorse a new policy under which repayment of low-dollar customer deposit overpays have a limit of nothing-less-than $5. Member Jim Raffin was not in attendance.

Yagelski told the Service Board that the number of such overpays is increasing and that putting the nothing-less-than $5 limit on repayment would save time, printing, and mailing costs. He added that it costs more to cut the repayment checks than, in many cases, the amount of those checks.

Consultancy

At a cost not to exceed $9,500, Yagelski told the Service Board, the Utility has contracted with an engineering firm to evaluate the current operation of the aeration system, with recommendations for “cost-cutting” improvements. “One of the most important goals is to optimize the treatment process to achieve the highest final effluent quality while improving current energy usage,” Yagelski said.

The study should be completed in three months.

Confined Entry Gear

At a cost of $1,340, Yagelski told the Service Board, the Utility purchased a new confined space entry tripod and material winch to replace the old gear, which had begun to develop problems.

Lease Not to be Renewed

Members voted 4-0 to formally notify the current tenant of the former United Tractor facility at 116 N. 15th St. that its lease with the Utility will not be renewed and that the space must be vacated by May 31.

October in Review

In October Chesterton used 59.24 percent of its 3,794,000 gallon per day (gpd) allotment at the wastewater treatment plant; Porter, 59.68 percent of its 767,000 gpd allotment; the Indiana Boundary Conservancy District, 69.75 percent of its 81,000 gpd allotment; and the plant as a whole, 60.04 percent of its capacity. There were no bypasses last month. In October the Utility ran a deficit of $192,930 and in the year-to-date is running a deficit of $67,367.

Posted 11/19/2008