CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Municipal Authority is waiting for the green light for an alarm system at Montgomery Dam.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the authority heard from Engineer Jim Balliet of Gwin, Dobson and Foreman, regarding an alarm system at the dam.
Balliet said the authority submitted a comprehensive monitoring plan to the Department of Environmental Protection on Aug. 19, along with an alternative schedule for compliance with the alarm shutdown requirements.
Balliet said the authority has proposed to DEP to submit the public water supply permit by the end of the year and asked for a one-year timeframe, after the permits have been issued, to complete the project. He said the authority is now waiting for a response from DEP.
Balliet said in order to comply with the new DEP regulations, the water treatment plants must have an alarm system, which will activate a shutdown system, if problems occur at the plant when there is no staff present.
Balliet said system at the Montgomery Dam is 30 years old and can’t comply with the new regulations. He said he and CMA Manager John Williams met with the plant operators in November to discuss what to do.
Balliet said it will take a significant amount of work and money to update the system. However, Balliet said most of the physical work can be done in-house so updates to the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System will be the bulk of the project. He said the SCADA system will need some additional instruments installed.
Balliet said he is waiting for a response from DEP, but the individual he needs to speak with has been out of the office. He said once he hears back from DEP, he can update the authority on the status of the project.
