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Show - - ' .... - ;- : ... " r t- r t r ' r ' 1f.v-J ' . . .f'L-7 V U - . i - i f - -, ' i THE MEN AT the wheel, Douglas Lawson, sewer board chairman, Jack Stagg, sewer board and Lyman Merkley, grip valve controls outside of the sewer pump station at 2900 East 1500 South. The station began operating two weeks ago. Sewer project operates in spiie of some problems One of the major accomplishments of 1982 may be the opening of the valley-wide valley-wide sewer project to public use, but that accomplishment may go unnoticed because the project has been plagued with problem after problem. According to Jack Slagg, sewer management board member and Vernal City Councilman, the project began about eight years ago with phase one "deciding what we wanted." Phase two was engineering the project, and phase three began in 1979 with the formation of the Ashley Valley Sewer Management Board and construction of the project by an agreement between Vernal City, Maeser Water Improvement District and Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District. Over two weeks ago on Aug. 2 at 10:45 a.m., the pump station on 1500 South at 2900 East began operating-a sign that the project may be completed by next fall. The pump station is equipped with six pumps capable of transferring 10 million gallons of sewage to the sewer lagoons about a half a mile east of the station. The station also has a 450 volt diesel generator w hich will be switched on automatically should there be a power outage. The station has a complete computer back-up system. There are also crushers at the pump station to eliminate solid material in the lines. Presently, about 2 million gallons a day are being pumped from the pump station to a completed lagoon. Only 21)0,000 gallons a day is running through the Vernal City treatment-being treatment-being relieved by the new system. The Vernal City plant has been providing the only sewer service to the area until the new system began two weeks ago. "When the lagoons are approved by the state (Board of Health) the city plant will be discontinued," Stagg said. The State Board of Health has allowed the completed lagoon number two to be filled with sewage to test it for leaks. Several weeks ago the lagoon was filled with clear water and several small leaks were found, but those have been resolved. Meanwhile, H & K Construction is completing the other lagoons before November, when his contract ends. Total cost of the valley-wide sewer project is $16 million with EPA assuming about 90 percent of the cost. The project is planned for about 20 years and has capacity to handle up to 10 million gallons daily. The project also includes sewer lines which now connect most of the valley to the system. Areas in Naples and Davis were left off the project because of a shortage of funds. With recent state loans and grants these lines should be completed. With the completion of the sewer project, the Sewer Management Board, which has been over the construction of the project, will continue to manage the jointly owned lines of the project. Although sewer board members are "holding their breath" on completing the project this fall, most agree that the flow of sewer into the first lagoon is a positive sign. |