Big Springs water source shut down
for repair
By Julie Fann
Star Staff
jfann@starhq.com
Monday morning, the city shut down Big
Springs water source, one of three sources that supply water
to a 75 square-mile region, for repairs to its filter system.
City officials say the source could be closed for up to one
week but that most consumers won't notice any effects.
"As long as people conserve (water), and we'll
be having people working around the clock to make every effort
to regulate the water, I don't anticipate that we will really
have a significant loss in water pressure," said Teresa Nidiffer,
Chief Water Plant Operator for the city.
The city is replacing the material, called "media,"
that exists inside two filters that help make the water safe
for consumers. Since the water source was built in 1981, the
"media" have not been replaced.
"We are just now replacing the media, which is
extremely good that it's lasted this long," Nidiffer said.
Nidiffer explained that replacing "media" is not as time-consuming
as cleaning up afterward. Because of that, Nidiffer expects
Big Springs to be closed until the 15th or 16th of the month.
However, Leger thinks the work can be completed
much sooner. "Fortunately, the schedule to date looks like
we're going to do much better than what we gave ourselves.
They did (clean) one cell (filter section) in two and a half
hours, so if they keep working at that rate, they'll have
one of the cells done today. They may have the whole thing
done today," he said, though he didn't want to get anyone's
hopes up.
Since water travels downward, and most residents
live below the Big Springs water tanks, most people won't
notice a change in their water pressure. Ted Leger, Public
Works Director for the city, explained that those most likely
to be affected live in higher elevations. "There are some
cases where people have chosen to live very high in relation
to our highest elevated tanks, so the potential is there,"
he said. Leger said that residents who have problems "know
who they are" because they have had problems in the past.
Continued rainfall is the only other factor that
poses a threat to getting Big Springs running again. Rain
water causes turbidity, or murky ground water, that serves
as an indicator that bacteria may be present in the water
supply.
Sources located in Valley Forge, Hampton and
Big Springs provide Carter County's water supply.
