The Byrdstown Water Plant must replace an intake pump after one of the intake pumps burned out.
Water Plant Superintendent Buster Harmon said he had to put in a spare intake pump to temporarily solve the issue. Harmon said he is not sure what exactly caused the intake pump to stop working.
“I don’t know there is some stuff coming in that I have never seen before and I don’t know if that’s what is stopping the intakes up or what it is but it’s giving us fits down at the plant. I’ve had everybody that I know down there to look at that stuff.”
Harmon said he has two intake pumps working which should be fine for now until the other pump can be inspected to see if it can be repaired. Mayor Sam Gibson said if the pump can’t be repaired quickly the town may have to buy another pump which could cost the town around $75,000.
“We’ve got one spare right now,” Gibson said. “We need to see if that pump can be fixed real quick or either get another cheap pump to go back in there.”
Harmon said while they have a crane down there at the plant they used it to take one of the pumps out and put the spare pump in. Gibson said the plant needs to get another pump in place as soon as possible.
“We need to get in because we will feel better when we do,” Gibson said. “While the other one was down there before we got the crane in here for three or four days we were kind of sweating because our water tank was getting kind of short in the tank.”
Aldermen also approved sending a worker at the sewer plant to get a collections certification. Gibson said the town would pay for the worker to get the certification as the sewer plant must have it.