Water board moving forward with project
Pictured (L to R): Robin Cork with Utility Engineering Consultants, Michael Barilone with ADEM’s SRF, Russellville Utilities office manager Pat Seal, water board member Joe Graham, water board member Richard Tutich, Russellville Water assistant manager Lee Parker, Russellville Mayor David Grissom, Russellville Water manager Doug Clement, Rod Hawkins with Utility Engineering Consultants, Terry Dison with B.H. Craig Construction and Brad Jones with B.H. Craig Construction. Photo by Kellie Singleton.
The Russellville Water and Sewer Board is officially moving forward with plans to build a new raw water pump station that will not only better serve the board’s current customers but will allow the board to provide adequate services for future customers for many years to come.
Members of the water board, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), the city of Russellville, B.H. Craig Construction Company, Inc., and Utility Engineering Consultants, LLC, met last Wednesday to break ground on the station.
Russellville Water and Sewer manager Doug Clement said the project is being made possible through a $500,000 grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority, administered through the ADEM Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, coupled with funding provided as low interest loans to total the $1.3 million final cost.
Clement said the new raw water pump station would allow the Russellville Water and Sewer Board to pump up to 12 million gallons of water per day into their plant – a significant jump from the six million gallons the plant is currently capable of processing.
“What this means for us is that we will be able to continue providing the same level of quality service for our current customers, but we will be able to prepare for any future growth in our city in the years to come,” Clement said.
“In addition to servicing our own customers, we also provide water to the West Lawrence Water Authority, Isbell Water Authority and the Franklin County Water Service Authority.
“In taking on this project, our water board is looking out for the interests of our customers and our city as a whole by preparing now for new businesses and expansions that might come our way.
“We believe this proactive approach is especially important considering the city of Russellville has seen the expansion of two large industries in the past year. If this trend continues, we will definitely need to have the capacity to keep up with greater demands for water services.”
Clement said being able to increase their production would also be a good marketing tool for economic development.
“If there is a business or industry that is looking to locate here in Russellville and they have a need for large amounts of water each day to operate their business, we will already be equipped to handle those demands,” he said.
Another positive aspect of this project is the fact that the installation of variable frequency drive pumps at the Lake Elliott Raw Water Pump Station will result in significantly reduced operational energy costs and an energy savings of approximately $30,000 per year.
Once installed, the energy efficient pumps will reduce energy consumption at these plants by over 465,000 kilowatt hours per year.
“This project is beneficial because it saves electricity and helps the environment while also providing cleaner and safer drinking water,” said Michael Barilone, the project engineer with the ADEM Drinking Water State Revolving Fund.
“We are proud to support these types of projects.”
Clement said he was very appreciative to have ADEM’s support.
“I’m thankful we will have this kind of technology because it will make the pumping process much more efficient, and it will save us money so we can save our customers money,” Clement said.
“I want to thank ADEM and TVA for all they do. I also want to thank our board – Dan Terry, Richard Tutich, Joe Graham, Wanda Myrick and the late Curtis Grissom – for the hard work they put in to making this project possible.”
Water board member Richard Tutich said the board is excited to be moving forward with this project.
“This is a great project and one that will benefit the citizens of Russellville and those whose water authorities we support for years and years to come,” Tutich said.
“We are doing what we can to stay two steps ahead of the demand.”
Russellville Mayor David Grissom said he appreciated the Russellville Water and Sewer Board for being proactive and having the city’s best interests in mind.
“This is a great project for our city that will not only help our current citizens and businesses but our future citizens and any future industries that choose to locate in our city,” Grissom said.
“We always want to be preparing for our future and we are glad the Russellville Water Board shares in that vision as well.”
