Fremont sewer in danger of failing
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on June 22, 2016 1:46 PM
FREMONT -- Ten sewer pumps in Fremont could potentially be in danger of failing, a town Public Works employee said at the Fremont Town Board meeting Tuesday evening.
Kenneth Wayne Stanley with public works said the 10 above-ground sewer pumps in the town could "be ready to go at any time." Stanley said the expensive pumps have been a money sink for years, as expensive repairs become more frequently necessary. The pumps are still operational, but they are aging, and require a wide set of different parts which are going bad with increasing regularity.
Parts for the above-ground pumps are expensive. Stanley brought a small rubber flange, no bigger around than a nickel, to show to the board while explaining the costs involved in maintaining the pumps.
"That right there, that's 10 dollars," he said. "And I have to put eight of those on every pump. Sometimes two sets."
Ten-dollar rubber pieces are just the beginning. Stanley said single parts for the pumps can cost more than $1,000, and even then replacing the parts is only a temporary measure as the pumps eventually degrade with age.
As a solution, Stanley suggested that the board look into replacing the above-ground pumps with submerged pumps, which he said have proven themselves to be a much more efficient investment. The town has several submerged pumps already, and some have been in place since as far back at the early 1970s with little to no maintenance required. Stanley, who has been with Fremont for 14 years, said that he has only ever needed to do basic routine checkups on the submerged pumps since he arrived, rarely even needing to access the underground components themselves.Stanley said that the pumps being submerged lets them stay cool at all times, which goes a long way toward their longevity. In his opinion, replacing the pumps would save the town a lot of money in the long term, although the exact numbers have not been worked out yet.
The town is currently waiting to hear about a federal water and sewer grant which would allow them to pursue the project all at once. The town of Pikeville, which has similar sewage concerns, has also applied for the grant.
Fremont Mayor Darron Flowers said that the town should know the status of its application by the end of this month. If the town does not receive the grant, it will have to look into replacing the pumps one at a time.