One project is complete. The new Water Plant standby generator went through final testing and was put on line today. We actually produced water with the generator supplying all our electrical needs.

For the first time, The Village of Paulding has an uninterrupted supply of water. The generator has a John Deere engine. The local John Deere dealer will be able to service the generator motor. Everything on the generator is automatic. It tests runs itself once a week. Once a month it automatically cuts off our AEP power and will run the plant. The generator is tied into our auto-dialer system. If we have a power failure when the plant is not staffed, the auto-dialer calls to alert us that the generator has put itself on line. Plant staff will respond to the auto dialer call out. Some of our equipment will need to be manually restarted. The generator will be hooked to the new plant also. When the new plant is finished the computer system will restart all the equipment. All our plant operators went through a training session today to instruct them on how to deal with any problem that might happen with the generator. The new generator fills avoid in our ability to provide The Village of Paulding with the best utility services.

We are getting close to "Firing Up" the new stand-by electric generator at the water plant. There was a meeting of the contractors, engineers & the Water Superintendent this morning.
The following items were discussed on the Generator Project
1 Several main electrical wiring problems were worked out.

2 Wire will be run from the generator to the plant "Diler" but will not be connected. This is
as written in the contract. Schweller Electric will program the Generator into our
emergency dial out system.

3 All the plumbing, controls and fill station problems were worked out.

4 All the Walkway, Framwork & Handrail problems were worked out.

5 All the "door rattles" will be fixed

6 The contracted sound damping material will be installed inside the generator housing

7 MidWest agreed that they are to provide fuel for start-up & for the first fill-up after start-
up. This will be cooardinated with Mike Winners.

None of these agreements will add any additional cost to Paulding.

Everything will be done by May 31. The new lines from the generator will be put in place, "cut-in" on May 29 or 30. This will require apx 3hrs of time when the plant will not have any power.

Official Start- Up and staff training will be the 1st week of June.
Mike suggested that it be done at 2pm. We will have the plant & system full at that time. This will be coordinated with Mike.

The Village Council has just approved the engineering for the next part of the actual layout drawings for the new plant. We should get a look at them by July 15th. We also just received a document called the “final scope for the project”. The document is a detailed outline of how the engineering will proceed on the new plant. It describes each of the objectives to be covered and when they will be done. I am still looking forward to the day the actual construction starts.

The concrete foundation work is done for the new elevated storage tank. If you have been by the site, the contractor has started to truck in all the prefabricated and preformed huge steel plates that will be welded together to form the tank and center support leg. The new 8” water main line has been completed and tested that crosses Emerald Road to feed the tank. Soon the steel crew will be in town to begin erecting the tank.

The new stand-by electric generator has arrived at the water plant. The associated wiring, very large motor operated switches, stairs and walkways are being hooked up and put in place. Soon the water plant will have the ability to operate during a power outage. I mentioned before that the generator will stay in place to deliver back up power for the new plant.

Preplanning work also continues on our new main wastewater lift station. An engineering firm is being selected to work on this project. We hope to have it completed and on line by this fall.

There is not much going on with the new plant here in Paulding. The engineering firm URS, in Toledo, is hard at work creating the first set of plans that will show the layout of the new water plant building. They are also getting closer to starting the pilot study for the new water plant. We are doing work in our Chemical Building, at the water plant, to get ready for the pilot study.

The contractor at the new elevated tank project on Emerald Rd has finished the foundation for the tank. They have also tapped onto the 8” water main on the far side of Emerald Rd and laid a new 8” line across the road to hook into the new elevated tank. Next week, the week of April 8, 2008, they will be removing the forms off the new foundation wall and filling the circular foundation with stone.

We need to get the electric service run into the tank and add some extra conduits through sleeves in the foundation wall for future electric needs. This work will also be done the week of April 8 2007. The actual steel elevated tank construction will start in a month or so.

The weather is holding up progress on the new auxiliary electric generator at the water plant.

Things have been very busy around the plant. We have five large projects going right now. The foundation at the new elevated tank on Emerald Rd is almost done. The next step is a tap on the 8” line across Emerald Rd and a new line running across the street to the tank.

Contracts are about to be sent out on the Raw Water Valve project at the plant. Construction on this project will start next month.

We have entered into a feasibility study to determine the type of new wastewater lift station that will replace the old main lift station right beside the new elevated tank on Emerald Rd. Construction on this project will hopefully start this spring and be on line by this fall.

The emergency generator project is going on at the plant. The generator will be used with the current and the new water plants. The foundation and pad have been poured. The equipment will be set in place next week.

The pilot study to determine what type of membranes we will be using and the building layout will be coming up soon.

Lots of things are happening around the plant; Council passed new Water rates to operate the Water plant, construction has started on the new elevated storage tank on Emerald Rd, a contract has been signed to begin replacing our Raw Water Valve, construction has started on the emergency generator for the plant, we have signed a contract to begin the engineering for our new Water Plant and we have signed a contract to begin engineering to “loop” two water distribution main lines.

New tougher EPA regulations have required the Water Plant to use newer, much more expensive, chemicals to treat the water as it passes through the plant. We have been in compliance with all EPA regulations since early 2006. This old plant is very temperamental. The process must be operated under the tightest control to keep within EPA mandates. The new plant will produce the best water possible for many many years to come!

Downing Construction is doing the foundation concrete work at the site of our new elevated tank. The work is scheduled to take two to three weeks. Maguire Iron, Inc. from Sioux Falls, South Dakota will be erecting the elevated tank. It will be a “pedestal” style tank, with no outer legs. One large center column will support the tank. This style tank requires less maintenance, has a secure internal ladder and does not require a chain link fence. The new tank is scheduled to be on line by this coming fall.

Schumm Plumbing, Schweller Electric and D&J Engineering will be replacing our Raw Water Rate of flow valve at the plant. This piece of equipment will be controlled by a computer operated PLC (Programmable Logic Control) system. The system automatically adjusts all the feeders in the plant according to the volume of water that we are bringing into the plant from the reservoir. The raw valve itself is also controlled by the same PLC system. A new magnetic flow meter to measure the raw water will be installed in this project. All of this equipment will be installed in the basement of the building that stands closest to the reservoir. This building along with the new equipment will be incorporated into the new plant.

The new emergency standby electric generator is scheduled to be shipped March 9, 2007. It will stand near the North West corner of the current Lab, filter and office building at the plant. It will allow us to continue to produce water and pump it to our elevated tanks during a power outage. This location was selected for the generator as it will also be incorporated into the new plant.

A new water line on the North side of the Village will hook existing water distribution lines together. This new line will help keep the water fresher, equalize pressure and increase the quality of the water.

Many hours of work have gone into developing all these projects. When the construction on the new plant starts things are going to get really interesting around the plant. Check back often. I will try to make time to add info on our progress as we go. You may also contact me at the plant, by phone, by E-Mail or stop out anytime.

Lots of things are starting to happen at the Water Department. We are building a new elevated water storage tank on Emerald Rd. Construction is scheduled to start next Mon. Feb 5th.

Last Fri. we had a bid opening on the Raw Water Valve Project. This is the only area in our current plant that will remain after the new plant is built. The valve will be a computer controlled device that will fit the operating system in the new plant. The existing valve is 23 years old and has been acting up since 2004. The replacement will not disturb the water production at the plant. The change over will take place at night when the plant is not in operation.

All of the projects will help us make better water for Paulding.

The extreme cold weather causes major problems at the plant. We must deal with outside tanks of water that tend to freeze over at night while no water is moving through the process. Small pumps are used to keep the cold water circulating so it will not freeze solid. Our staff has to keep the pumps running and break up any ice that does develop. Working outside today was very tough.