Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

For Gurdon Rural Water Project

Pressure Is Probblem

BY JOHN MILLER

Water pressure is a problem for some residents on the new Gurdon rural water system.

According to Harold Hurst, manager of the Gurdon Water and Sewer Department, some locations along the lines don't have as much pressure as they should and the homeowners may need to install small, in-line pumps.

He informed the Gurdon Water and Sewer Commission of this at its regular monthly meeting Monday, June 15. He said the system does have booster pumps in place at the Red Springs location as well as in the Sycamore area, but the higher elevated homes don't have as much water pressure as those structures on a lower site level.

Additionally, Hurst said several people have bought pressure reducers for their systems. In most cases, though, this isn't necessary because normal plumbing can handle 75 pounds of pressure before a problem develops. The system, he said, averages between 50 and 70 pounds in many areas.

Plumbers, Hurst said, say having the pressure reducers is a judgement call to be made by the homeowner. These regulators do restrict the flow of water and reduce water pressure in the lines going to a house.

The new Cabe Middle School, Hurst informed the panel, will need to install in-line pumps to get the pressure it needs. With the RPZ valve and metering system in place, the school only has about 26 pounds of pressure, which isn't enough for the water fountains and toilets.

In other business, Hurst said the court cases for condemning property along the system route went well for the first day. The court went through 10 cases (with 33 on tap) and it only cost the department $61 more than the original appraisal.

However, the water department will have to transfer this amount to the escrow account for payment once the cases have been heard. Additionally, the department will have to pay the expert his $75 per hour fee for being in court.

Still, Hurst said, the department's attorney Eric Hughes expects to settle some out of court after the first day's results.

G&S Trenching Co., the contractor for the rural water system, will do the clean up work as agreed once a crew finishes working on a current job. Hurst said the company has equipment in the Centerpoint area it will bring to Gurdon for the cleanup work.

And, he said, because of the court cases and some people still having problems with their minimum water bills, the Greenville project remains on hold for the time being. Once everything is settled, though, it will be reexamined and, if the money is there, done.

The Water Department purchased a used truck. Hurst said he bought a 1990 International diesel for $17,000 from Garrett of Hot Springs. The original bid for the truck was $17,075, but when he went to get it there was a sign in the window for $17,000 even.

The truck, with 104,000 miles, hasn't been used locally yet as some minor repair work and servicing are being done.

Hurst said the anticipated revenues fell short of their projections. The year-to-date budget had the figures at $562,562, but received only $551,329, creating a shortfall of $11,233.

This, he said, is because the budget was figured with the rural water system being in place and operational by Nov. 10, 1997. Some areas, however, didn't get on line until mid-January 1998.

Because of this, the department will have to amend the budget accordingly.

With June being the final month in the department's fiscal year, a new budget will be examined for approval for the 1998-99 fiscal year at the July meeting.

The commissioners were told a new budget isn't ready just yet.

A new set of scales has been ordered at a cost of $1,050, because a set wore out, Hurst said. The department is required to have scales to measure the chlorine level at the well sites by the Arkansas Department of Health.

The department will be audited later this week. Hurst said the audits are getting more and more expensive each year, and this year's will be more costly because of all the activity the department has had.

But, he said, the auditors will only be in town for two days to gather the information they need before returning to Arkadelphia to process it.