Lime, an anti-corrosive, is added to the water, as well as chlorine. The treatment facility also contains a lab room that is certified to test the water for coliform bacteria. Testing for other contaminants is outsourced, Hansen said.
From the treatment center the water is piped to the Binnewater Reservoir, a hilltop forest-buffered facility that holds 12 million gallons. Constructed in 1927, the reservoir has a three-day capacity and is designed to equalize water pressure in the city. Three monitors in an enclosed facility control the UV light, which kills protozoa; chlorine is also added to the water from three large plastic containers, at a ratio of 0.5 parts per million gallons.
Three pipes convey the water to the city. Because the system is gravity fed, and therefore does not cause changes in pressure that otherwise would hammer the system of pipes and mains, the water mains in the city hold up pretty well, said Hansen. The older pipes are made out of cast iron, while pipes installed since the 1950 are made out of ductile iron. Starting in the 1960s, the department lined many of the pipes with cement to reduce rust.
Hansen said many of the thousands of valves need to be replaced, but in general the system has been well-maintained. What about that sinkhole onWashington Avenue? Although the department is concerned about water mains that have been exposed by the hole and is working to reinforce them, the failure isn’t a water system issue, she said.
According to the 2011 annual report, the water system supplies 23,893 people. Approximately 1.6 billion gallons were produced in 2011, with 1.5 billion gallons delivered; 880 million gallons were registered through meters, with flushing of mains, firefighting, sewer maintenance and leakage accounting for the difference. The Town ofUlsterpurchases 675,000 gallons of water a day from the system, which supplies TechCity, the former IBM plant onEnterprise Drive, many homes in the area andEast Kingston.
The new intake dam and UV facility are among the 22 projects proposed in the department’s four-year plan, which have a collective price tag of $16.3 million. Twelve percent of that expenditure will come out of the annual budget; 82 percent will be borrowed, 1 percent will be from grants, and 5 percent is from reserve funds.
Hansen noted that the average rate is $2.99 per unit, equivalent to 100 cubic feet of water, or 748 gallons. The average residential customer consumes from 20 to 25 units a quarter; large-volume users, such as the hospitals, get a discount. The rates, which are set each year by the water board, have increased 2 percent annually on average over the past decade, compared to a recent annual increase of 16 to 17 percent for the sewage portion of the bill, according to Hansen.
The board tends to be “fiscally conservative,” Hansen said. For example, the four-year plan includes the purchase of radio-read meters, which cost $125 each and ultimately will save money in labor costs. Rather than purchase the meters all at once, however, the board allocated $50,000 per year for the item, so that the meters are being phased in. “I would love to accelerate that program,” said Hansen.
The ongoing costs, coupled with declining revenues, are a challenge. But all in all, “the variable cost of our water is very small, given the wonderful quality,” she said. Plus, “our gravity-driven system is as green as you’re going to get.” This is one system the Kingston of the future won’t have to retrofit.
