BWD Engineering Committee Meeting - 10/23/09

This past Friday, October 23, the Engineering Committee of BWD met with Chirs Ryman. Ryman is an engineer with Arcadis Engineering from Akron, OH. Arcadis is the company that did the engineering on the new Water Treatment Plant.

Present at the meeting was Committee Chairman Chuck Bibbee and members Tim O'Hara and Gene McGaffick. Also present was Board President Mike Ryan, Board members Bob Wines and Cal Carney. District Manager Al DeAngelis and Jon Boyd of Dallis Dawson Assocs.

Ryman presented a computer program designed for the water district that can project the whole system for viewing. With this program they can see exactly where everything is that is currently in the system. The amazing part of the new program is that future expansion can be programed in the computer to show what would be needed. They can plug in the routes, different diameters of pipe, different types of pipe such as plastic or metal, altitudes and other factors that show just what is needed for any expansion. It computes what will work and what wouldn't measure up.

It's an astounding piece of engineering computer technology that will save time and money on planning any future expansion of the water district's infrastructure. In days of old engineers had to sit down with slide rules and drawing tables to incorporate the plans. Now it can be done by just plugging figures into the computer program.

Also amazing is the camera security system that is now operational at both the new Pumping Station and the Water Treatment Plant & reservoir. With strategic placement of several cameras all angles can be seen on a computer screen with just a click of the mouse. Shown above is the back side of the WTP, the front gates at the Pump Station looking out toward Wells Avenue and the smoke stack across the river at Ergon. That's a close-up of that smoke stack with that camera zoomed in on it. The whole system was made possible mostly through a grant awarded to the district. All three of these pictures was viewed at the WTP. BWD personnel can view the whole system on any computer in their network.

Next up for the district is the bid opening Thursday morning for Part B of the Salineville water project. That will take place beginning at 11 A.M. at the St. Clair Township Hall in Calcutta. Part B is the completion of the project to supply the Village of Salineville with water. It will start on Route 39 just past the Southern Local School Complex.

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