Published Wednesday, October 30, 2002
water flowing
Herald Staff Writer
A desperately needed water pump will not be shipped to Greenville until Thursday or Friday, said Bill Brady, superintendent of the borough's water department.
Brady addressed the situation with the pump at the Greenville Municipal Authority's monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The pump needs to be certified and painted before it can be shipped, Brady said.
Water levels in the borough's reservoirs dropped to critical levels Monday as the borough's pump system broke down.
The first of the borough's two pumps shut down over the weekend, and the back-up pump started malfunctioning and is running at 40 percent capacity, he said.
A replacement pump had been ordered and was supposed to be shipped Tuesday.
The pump, which is being shipped through Zelienople-based contractor Basic Services, Inc., is coming from Kansas.
A spokesperson from that company was not available for comment Tuesday night.
Brady said the borough's water reserves were steadily increasing after being at critical levels.
Greenville Fire Chief Steve Thompson said the fire department helped set up temporary pumps to draw water from the river into the city's filtration systems, and lent the fire engine briefly until temporary pumps could be set up.
Thompson said the fire hydrants were at lower levels, and in case of a fire call, other area fire departments would respond automatically to help pump water.
The fire department could draw water from the river if necessary, he said, adding enough water was in the system to handle a house fire, but the department might have trouble with a fire in a larger building.
Currently, the department's pumper truck is pumping water at a rate of 1,000 gallons a minute. Normal capacity for the water system is 1,200 a minute. The remaining pump, Brady said, is pumping water at 200 to 400 gallons a minute.
Brady said the firefighters were working in four hour shifts around the clock, and the department was charging the city $150 an hour for use of the truck.
Authority treasurer Dick Miller said Hempfield Township offered the use of their pump truck as well.
The authority passed a motion to repair or replace the second pump, which is operating at 40 percent, upon inspection. Bids will go out if the pump needs replaced.
School activities and schedules went as normal Tuesday. All Greenville students were sent home early Monday. A spokesperson for the schools said the students were being told to watch how much water they use.
All borough residents are asked to conserve water until further notice. Brady said the community had put forth a noticeable effort to conserve water, and asked that they continue with their efforts.