Byrdstown Aldermen approved two separate purchases of equipment for the town’s water treatment plant, with a new air compressor and new altitude valve Monday night.
Replacing an air compressor will cost the town an estimated $8,600. Water Plant Superintendent Buster Harmon said the town is spending a lot of money on having two air compressors serviced. Harmon said one air compressor could handle the load of the water plant, but having a second one spreads the load.
“Right now, we are down to one,” Harmon said. “And I’ve got to wait till either we approve this or they come up and do maintenance on it. My personal opinion, when they come up and do maintenance, it’s a thousand something dollars for them just to come up here and look at it.”
Harmon said the new air compressor will come with a three-year general maintenance contract. Harmon said the town purchased a similar air compressor in 2022.
The new altitude valve will cost an estimated $12,420. Harmon said the water plant’s altitude valve has been out for almost a year.
“What that altitude valve does is when your water gets up to a certain level, it cuts off the water from going into that tank unless it goes into the other tanks,” Harmon said. “When that altitude valve doesn’t work, the less it will overflow, so we have had to actually cut this thing off because of an overflowing tank.”
Harmon said nothing will have to be built around the sales tank to sift the water out.
“This is a pit outside the tank, and the altitude is in that pit,” Harmon said. “It’s just basically a mechanical pressure system that once the pressure gets so high, it closes the valve.”
Harmon said it has been quite some time since the town last replaced the altitude valve.
Both purchase items were added to the agenda during the meeting.
