FINDLAY, OH (Toledo News Now) -
Findlay's water treatment
plant has leaked 80-100,000 gallons of drinkable water over the past five
years. The city has made plans to fix the problem.
The leak is predicted to
be about 30 feet underground. An underground clearwell is also leaking, which
holds treated water waiting to be used.
"It's like having a glass
of water with a small hole at the bottom," explained Water Treatment Plant
Superintendent Jeff Newcomer. "We're continuously adding water to it, but it's
continuously leaking out."
Water is also leaking into
the water treatment building itself, creating further problems.
Construction to fix the
leak could start this fall, but will take some time.
"Dig six inches, verify
what you got, dig six or 12 inches, verify what you got," Newcomer said. "So it's
going to be a long, slow, tedious process because we can't afford to break
anything, additionally."
Estimated costs for the
project vary. The city appropriated $600,000 to fix the leaks, but according to Newcomer, it may cost about $1 million. Additional funds
will come from money collected from water bills. The city plans on repairing
both leaks at the same time to cut down on costs.
"We'll have one project,"
City Service Director Paul Schmelzer said. "We won't have the site disturbed
twice, because there are some significant depths involved."
Plans for how to go about
the repairs are still under review.
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Now. All rights reserved.
Findlay's water treatment plant has leaked 80-100,000 gallons of drinkable water over the past five years.
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