CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Municipal Authority is hoping to rejuvenate the water filters at Montgomery Dam.
At Tuesday’s CMA meeting, Engineer Jim Balliet of Gwin, Dobson and Foreman, discussed the situation at Montgomery Dam.
Balliet said the filters at the plant are about 30 years old. He said he and Manager John Williams have been discussing options.
Balliet said the filters are made of several layers, the first layer is coal, and the other layers are various layers of sand. Balliet said the authority could replace the layers with a membrane system; however, the costs would be roughly $110,000, plus labor.
Balliet said another concern with this option is that between the approval and permitting process with the Department of Environmental Protection, it would take several months just to get the permits and approvals, plus about two years to complete the replacement.
Balliet said the authority is also facing a major upgrade project at Montgomery Dam. He said the upgrades to the filter could be worked in as part of that project, however something must be done to address the filter situation soon.
Balliet said, in his opinion, the best option would be to remove the existing coal layer and replace it with a new coal layer. He said this would cost about $10,000.
He said it is the coal layer that is in the worst shape, but the layers beneath the coal are still working. Balliet said by replacing the coal layer, the filters will be able to keep functioning for several years and would allow the authority enough time to work with DEP on the project to convert to a membrane system.
Balliet suggested the authority replace the coal in one filter, as a “test” to see how the filters improve. If it works, the authority can then replace the coal in the rest of the filters.
The authority gave Balliet permission to order the new coal.