ASHLAND - The Ashland Area Municipal Authority is hoping to meet with representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection in the near future for discussion on the mandated dam raising project.
Alfred Benesch & Co. senior designer Natalie L. O'Connor, provided a brief report to the AAMA board during Monday's meeting. She said the authority received a review letter from DEP on Nov. 22.
"We formulated a response to the review letter that was sent out last week," O'Connor said. "Now we just need to know what you would like to do next. We can wait and see what happens or, as discussed at the last meeting, we can schedule a meeting with DEP."
"I would suggest that we meet with DEP if they're willing to meet with us," authority solicitor S. John Price said, recommending that the Benesch office make arrangements for a meeting.
The authority is planning DEP-mandated improvements at its reservoir in Butler Township that will raise the crest of the reservoir by six feet above its current height. The improvement will allow the reservoir to hold more than its current capacity of 110 million gallons during major storm events. The increased height will permit large amounts of storm water to leave the reservoir in a more controlled fashion through the spillway instead of flowing over the dam crest and thus increase safety for areas below the reservoir.
The authority is also planning an upstream closure project at the dam in response to another DEP mandate.
O'Connor told the board that filter media project is on hold until the winter is over.
"There is no need to purchase the materials at this point?" board Chairman Francis Menne asked.
"No. We really don't have that much room to store the material," O'Connor replied. "And when we get it delivered, we might be able to get it in a slurry and pump it in.
Water from the reservoir goes through the granular filter media to take out particulates before the water enters the system for distribution. At predetermined times, the filter media is backwashed, allowing the trapped particles to be released and removed. However, the age of the filter media is making it more difficult to remove the particles and also increases the frequency of the backwashes.
At a previous meeting, O'Connor said the filter media has never been changed in the life of the 20-year-old filtration plant. Twenty years is about the time limit on filter media replacement, she said.
Ashland borough Manager Raymond Jones Jr. said that employees have been focusing more on frozen lines than water leaks.
"We still have leaks in the system and the system pressure is down 20 pounds overall judging by the gauges at the water tank and borough hall," Jones said. "We had three frozen service lines that were our responsibility."
One, he said, was in the 1400 block of Spruce Street, another in the 500 block of Oakland Avenue and the third in the 1100 block of Pine Street.
The one at Oakland Avenue, he said, was extensive.