PE ELL - The town has its regular winter water supply up and running again, but work remains before Pe Ell water customers can safely drink water directly from the tap.
A state Department of Health-issued boil-water order could be lifted shortly after the first of the year, however, if all goes well, Mayor John Penberth said last week.
The order, in effect since mid-April, requires Pe Ell to complete a number of improvements to its water treatment plant and distribution system before health department officials consider retracting the boil-water order.
The 500,000-gallon reservoir was down to less than 100,000 gallons Dec. 7. But by noon Sunday, it was at maximum capacity.
''Now contractors can get in and shut off the plant and make repairs,'' Penberth said.
He hopes to have crews working in the plant again by the end of this week.
Plant repairs were under way when temporary pumps drawing water from the Chehalis River failed, endangering the town's water supply. Contingency plans were made to haul in water aboard tanker trucks, and to install portable toilets at the school in order to avoid sending students home.
But the pumps were repaired, keeping the town in water until crews could get equipment into the woods to complete temporary repairs to the Lester Creek raw water line.
Two six-inch fire hoses were placed on each side of the wood line to augment the flow from the old line until it can be permanently replaced with heavy-duty plastic pipe. The Lester Creek water supply was connected to the pump station Thursday afternoon. The clear creek water puts less stress on the aging treatment plant.
With the Lester Creek line now carrying about 250 gallons per minute of untreated water to the plant, the immediate crisis is past. Now, efforts can again be focused on completing plant and distribution system repairs to satisfy state water quality standards.
Replacement of pipes inside the water plant requires the facility be shut down for eight to 12 hours at a time. During those periods, the reservoir will supply water to the distribution system.
Once treatment plant upgrades and about a dozen remaining service hookups are completed connecting customers to the new distribution lines, engineers will ask for a state inspection of the system.
But Jim McCauley of the state health department said: ''We will also have to look at the big picture. Can they reliably get raw water to the treatment plant?''
The town switched to the Chehalis River last summer, when Lester Creek was low. During the summer, the Lester Creek line deteriorated further, requiring the town to continue to draw from the Chehalis River into the rainy season, when the river carries silt and debris.
Problems with the Lester Creek water supply and the Chehalis River pump system will be looked at during the next state inspection.
''Knowing that those problems exist today, we don't want to lift the order'' without looking at those issues, McCauley said last week.
McCauley said the health department has been monitoring the Pe Ell water situation closely, particularly during the period the town was pumping water from the Chehalis River.
''They're still doing all of the standard testing,'' he said. ''They're not meeting treatment standards right now, but they're under a boil-water order.''
McCauley said water quality standards went ''from bad to worse'' when winter rains increased turbidity in the Chehalis River. The cloudy water made treatment more difficult, increasing the risk of bacteria avoiding contact with germ-killing chlorine.
Even though the town's water is now coming from Lester Creek, McCauley said it is important that customers continue to boil water used for consumption until the boil-water order is lifted.
''There are still risks,'' he said.
One of the casualties of Pe Ell's water problems was Bregg Phelps, the town's water system operator. Phelps resigned Dec. 6 after spending several hours late Saturday night and early Sunday morning in the hospital being treated for fluctuating blood-pressure and a peptic ulcer. It was his third trip to the hospital since August, when his counterpart in town's wastewater treatment plant was fired.
Phelps, 26, said he could no longer work for Penberth, or in the stressful environment created by the combative mayor.
McCauley said Phelps will be difficult to replace. Most municipal systems draw on ground water resources, he said.
''There just aren't that many surface-water treatment plant operators,'' he explained. ''The number certified to run a (surface water) treatment is limited.''
McCauley acknowledged Phelps' untimely departure is a concern.
''Sure, it's an issue,'' he said last week.
State Department of Ecology and health department officials are attempting to help Penberth find another state-certified
operator.
For now, the plant is being run by Tim Crews and Jim Justice. Crews, a former city of Centralia employee, was hired to operate the sewer plant under the supervision of an on-call certified wastewater treatment plant operator. Justice, the son of Councilor Tom Justice, is assisting Crews.
''It's not an ideal situation,'' McCauley conceded.
But, he said, Crews, although not certified, has hands-on experience.
''That's good,'' McCauley added.
McCauley said the health department is concerned about water quality - not about town politics.
''They're in a difficult situation right now,'' he stated.
Pe Ell ''started off in a hole,'' he said - one faced by communities that have a small population base to pay for water and sewer systems.
But McCauley contends Pe Ell is ''worse off than most'' because of the water system design.
''Pe Ell's water source is miles from the treatment plant, which is miles from the center of the system,'' he pointed out. ''There's thousands of feet of pipeline in there, and they've replaced a lot of it - to their credit.''
In contrast, communities such as Mossyrock and Toledo have fairly simple systems, McCauley said.
Permanent replacement of the wood section of the Lester Creek line, first scheduled for 2003, is now planned for the spring. Replacement of the 30-year-old water treatment plant is scheduled for completion in 2002.
Meanwhile Penberth continues the search for public money to help hold down rate increases for the town's 360 customers.
''The rates are reasonably high already,'' McCauley observed.
Residential customers pay about $95 every two months for water and sewer services.
The town is already $750,000 in debt for water and sewer system repairs, and estimates for system improvements called for in its engineering plans could cost as much as $13 million.
Sharon Michael can be reached by e-mail at smichael@chronline.com or by calling 807-8237.
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