By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Staying in the good graces of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Agency (IDEM) and “because it’s the right thing to do,” the city of Decatur is going to pay $43,444 to have sensors placed in manholes through the community.
At a recent meeting, the city’s board of works and safety gave Infrastructure Manager Josh Zimmerman (photo) the go-ahead to hire Duke’s, headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, to place root-control sensors in some 70 manholes.
Duke’s uses a micro-detection system which acts every 15 minutes to determine where rainwater is flowing and if it is in excess. It’s called an I and I system, Infiltration and Inflow.
Zimmerman said the city has checked and cleaned some of the sewer system, and “we’ve found a lot of problems.” Many of which the city does not have the capability to determine remain, however.
The I and I system will “map out severe problems” in the flow of rainwater.
The project could start in early February and take 90 or so days to complete.
“This will give us an idea of what we need to do,” Mayor Dan Rickord said, referring to staying in compliance with an Agreed Order with IDEM.
He said he had an upcoming meeting with IDEM to inform the state agency of Decatur’s effort.
“This is the right thing to do,” board member Craig Coshow added.
BROKEN PIPE: Another problem with which the city must deal with is a 48-inch pipe which has broken down and is discharging into the St. Marys River.
It is located along the riverbank behind the former Mark’s Heating/Air Conditioning building and the Mobile Medical business on First St.
“The pipe carries a massive amount of water,” Zimmerman told the board.
Repairs will be difficult and costly, due to the steep location and the fact that cranes will have to be used. Shifting ground has caused the pipe to break down.
The board approved the hiring, at a cost of $49,300, of American Structure Point to perform an engineering study of the problem. Zimmerman recommended the firm because “they’re familiar with the project and we need to do something,” he said.
American Structure Point was involved with the project which installed the pipe several years ago.