Byrdstown is looking to upgrade its Eagle Cove pump station after some customers have experienced water outages.
Engineer Nathaniel Green said the pump is undersized to serve the some 370 customers beyond it. At the same time, the line would need to be extended to handle the added pressure from a bigger pump.
“I think the thing we are going to have to do is we are going to have to pick a pump that’s going to work and not blow out everybody pressure wise,” Green said. “What do I mean by that? I mean right now we already have pretty high pressure, so anything that I do that increases the flow I also have to increase pressure. I don’t want to increase so much that it blows people’s water heaters out.”
Green said that area needs about 50 more gallons a minute to support the demand. Green said the overall price tag looks to be about 50 to 70,000 dollars.
Mayor Sam Gibson said the town has enough six inch line to do the extension in house, but the pump would need further consideration since it is an unbudgeted expense. Another option would be to just extend the line by 1000 feet without a new pump, Green said.
Green said he would come back to the Board of Aldermen with more options in next month’s meeting.