BPW Hears Reports

The Board of Public Works of Trenton Municipal Utilities held a brief meeting on Tuesday evening at city hall and heard several reports.
TMU Director Chad Davis said work continues on a cost of service and rate design study for the electric and wastewater departments by Burns and McDonnell. He shared information showing that a study of revenues and expenses has been completed to provide for financial planning and the next step is for a cost-of-service analysis to begin which will be delivered to the board at its next meeting on Aug. 27. Proposed rates would be designed in September with the complete study to be done by the end of that month.
A strategic planning session has been tentatively set for Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at city hall. The session will be led by Dave Christenson, a consultant from Kansas City.
Work continues to the improvements at the water treatment plant. Water Plant Supervisor Steve Reid said water samples have recently been sent to a private lab for testing for trihalomethanes. TMU has been cited by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources the last several years for excessive amounts of trihalomethanes in the drinking water and the improvements are designed to reduce the amount of the disinfection byproducts in the drinking water and keep them under the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency and DNR. Reid indicated that the amount of chlorine needed to disinfect the water has dropped in the afternoons with the construction partially completed on a roof over the raw water containment lagoon.
Davis said the next required sample to be sent to DNR will be in late September or October. He expects the sample to show a reduction in trihalomethanes since the roof will be completed by that time and it was only partially complete when the last required sample was taken in June.
In other reports, Sanitation Plant Supervisor Bob Hutchinson reported on problems with the SCADA system at the plant, which would not allow the plant to be run manually. The SCADA system can turn pumps off and on automatically as needed when it is operating properly. He said he believed the source of the problem has been found and that a way has been determined to make modifications to allow the plant to be run manually in the future, if needed.
Electric Plant Supervisor Steve Sims said repairs have been completed at the north substation and the diesel-powered electric generators are now back up and running and available to generate power.
Davis also told board members that work will be needed at the river intake pump in the near future. He said major work of the placement of large rip-rap rock at the site last occurred 15 or 16 years ago. A contractor will be looked at to assist with the replacement of rock that has been moved by the river over the last several years.
The board held an executive session for legal purposes following the regular meeting with no announcement made following the closed session.
The next regular meeting of the board is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 27.