Small Town News

Rollas water system repair comes with hefty price tag

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Repairs have been made at the water treatment plant and clear water is being pumped through the city.

After months of brown, somewhat cloudy water pouring through faucets, clear, clean water began being pumped throughout the city last Tuesday evening.

The source for the trouble was a media filter. Jerry Larsen, of Larsco Inc., who helped design the plant, was brought in to help the public works crew identify and fix the problem. After waiting nearly three months for the parts to arrive, city officials and Larsen began repairing the media last week.

It was a repair job that didn't come cheap. According to Rolla City Auditor, Mae Murphy, total costs are estimated to tickle $50,000. Those costs include the parts themselves, trucking the parts to Rolla, a charge from Larsen and other miscellaneous charges. Faced with a money crunch, the Rolla City Council turned to the Rolla City Sales Tax Committee for funds, and they honored the city's request.

Although the water throughout the summer was deemed safe to drink, it was brown and cloudy. Residents and businesses have said they are worried what the water may do to household appliances, including dishwashers, washing machines and hot water heaters.

Any problems caused by the water, however, won't be known for sometime.

This will bring to a close what has been a challenging summer for the public works department.

"We are still working on the reverse osmosis (RO) unit, but the media filter is fixed," said Public Works Director Mike Volanti. "The difference in water was almost immediate. The closer you lived to the plant the better your water was."

Volanti said he did not know how long it would take to flush the brown water from the city system, but acknowledged it would take some time.

Volanti explained he and his crew are looking into the RO unit to identify what is wrong. He said when working properly, the RO unit "will make the water even clearer."

Still, Volanti said the water being pumped through the city now is the clearest it's been in a long time.

"This water we're making now is the best we've had in over two years," Volanti said, words residents and businesses in Rolla have been waiting to hear.



Copyright 2009 Turtle Mountain Star, Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 Turtle Mountain Star Rolla, North Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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