(Feb. 2, 2017) Salisbury-based GMB Engineering is scheduled to provide the Pocomoke City mayor and council something the town hasn’t had in decades: possible solutions to the ongoing, but intermittent water quality issues seen in Pocomoke Heights and beyond.
Resident complaints have been steady, but sporadic, and all have the same basic features: offensive-smelling and colored tap water that damages appliances, frustrates filters and ruins clothing.
“This not an easy issue,” Scott Getchell, director of operational services at GMB, said. “The answer lies in a multi-tiered approach.”
What, exactly, those tiers are and what they might cost are details for the next public meeting of the mayor and council on Monday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at town hall.
“There’s no one thing to fix. We have a lot to recommend,” Getchell said. “There may need to be capital improvement with additional operational improvements. I think it’s going to take both.”
There may also be a need to hire professional service providers to execute some portion of the consultants’ recommendations.
These recommendations are derived from a hydrodynamic survey of the existing system, one feature of which is something the town has never had — a complete map of its water and sewer system.
GMB collected as much data as it could about the system to create a working model. Using this model, the consultants ran a number of scenarios on the modeled system and came up with suggestions they believe will improve the system.
“We have the mathematical explanation for these issues,” Getchell said. “I wish I could tell you we know exactly what to do.”
The silver lining, he said, is that even if conditions remain the same no one’s health will be directly, adversely impacted by the sediment, smell and discoloration of the town water.
“I don’t think it’s a health concern – it’s just the taste, odor and color, which is more of a nuisance than a threat. I don’t see people getting sick over the water,” he said.
The city voted to approve GMB’s evaluation of the water and sewer systems during last year’s budget cycle by voting to approve tapping into an $86,000 line of credit to fund the study. City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot said at the time the city would then seek a bond issue to repay the loan at a lower interest rate.
Going with the line of credit was a timesaving gesture, Crofoot said, allowing work to begin more promptly.
Resident complaints have been steady, but sporadic, and all have the same basic features: offensive-smelling and colored tap water that damages appliances, frustrates filters and ruins clothing.
“This not an easy issue,” Scott Getchell, director of operational services at GMB, said. “The answer lies in a multi-tiered approach.”
What, exactly, those tiers are and what they might cost are details for the next public meeting of the mayor and council on Monday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at town hall.
“There’s no one thing to fix. We have a lot to recommend,” Getchell said. “There may need to be capital improvement with additional operational improvements. I think it’s going to take both.”
There may also be a need to hire professional service providers to execute some portion of the consultants’ recommendations.
These recommendations are derived from a hydrodynamic survey of the existing system, one feature of which is something the town has never had — a complete map of its water and sewer system.
GMB collected as much data as it could about the system to create a working model. Using this model, the consultants ran a number of scenarios on the modeled system and came up with suggestions they believe will improve the system.
“We have the mathematical explanation for these issues,” Getchell said. “I wish I could tell you we know exactly what to do.”
The silver lining, he said, is that even if conditions remain the same no one’s health will be directly, adversely impacted by the sediment, smell and discoloration of the town water.
“I don’t think it’s a health concern – it’s just the taste, odor and color, which is more of a nuisance than a threat. I don’t see people getting sick over the water,” he said.
The city voted to approve GMB’s evaluation of the water and sewer systems during last year’s budget cycle by voting to approve tapping into an $86,000 line of credit to fund the study. City Manager/City Attorney Ernie Crofoot said at the time the city would then seek a bond issue to repay the loan at a lower interest rate.
Going with the line of credit was a timesaving gesture, Crofoot said, allowing work to begin more promptly.