City of Marion proves that ozone systems can be cost effective, with long term planning of maintenance and budgets. The use of ozone is good for the city of Marion, and with long term planning the costs of the system, and maintenance of the system can be kept low.
Marion council approves 15-year water-tank contract
The Marion City Council unanimously approved a 15-year water-tank maintenance contract at its Nov. 11 meeting.
Marty Fredrickson, building inspector, said the maintenance contract is important because the city hasn’t had a consistent or defined program for years.
City Administrator Roger Holter said: “Marty asked for this in the past, but it never came to fruition. By his efforts, he has been able to obtain a 15-year committed price.”
In addition, Holter said that regardless of inflation, the rates will pay for basic services and keep the city current.
“This is about a 20 to 25 percent discount based on what we have paid for the last several years when looking back at it,” he said.
Fredrickson said five city water tanks are included in the maintenance contract with Liquid Engineering of Butte, Mont.
Those tanks include the 500,000-gallon tank on Eisenhower Street, a 70,000-gallon tank at Marion High School, and a 200,000-gallon underground clear well at the Marion Treatment Plant.
Two other tanks are located on the water plant grounds, including a 350,000-gallon pre-ozone contact basin and 8,500-gallon pre-ozone contact basin.
Fredrickson said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment recommends, but does not require, all tanks be inspected, cleaned and repaired every three to five years.
Even though it isn’t required “yet,” Fredrickson said, the maintenance proposal would fit well with the KDHE recommendation.
“KDHE does an inspection every three years of our water plant, and they ask for the maintenance file,” he said.
The cost for the 15-year contract was $48,825, but Fredrickson said that amount is not what would be owed upfront. Instead, the tanks would be divided into three groups, with costs varying according to size and capacity at $3,250, $3,570 and $2,945.
Holter said the cleaning service this year was $5,500 because the pre-ozone basin, which is 15 feet deep, had sediment over 81⁄2 feet deep.
“We had excessive time spent on the job removing that material,” Holter said. “It is like a silt that will compact almost like concrete.”