The city of Oconto Falls will try to recoup $3,000 in fees paid to a Green Bay company that installed and repaired pumps at the waste water treatment plant.
The Oconto Falls City Council on Aug. 19 directed city attorney Larry Jeske to take legal action to retrieve the cost of service calls made by Brabazon Pump, Compressor and Vacuum of Green Bay.
Gerry Lemirande, street department foreman, said the city has experienced a pump failure in each of the last five years. Two failures were due to lightning strikes but the cause of the other three is uncertain. Lemirande said he is frustrated with the situation.
“When the pumps kept failing, I asked Brabazon if the pumps were fighting each other, but they said that wasn’t the problem,” he said.
Andy Frehse, Brabazon pump manager, told the Times Herald the pumps are unable to handle an increase in groundwater flow at the facility. He said the piping is not adequate to handle the water flow, and as a result, the one pump is “deadheading,” pumping but not moving water, and burning out. With increased water flow, the pumps are at maximum capacity, he said.
Frehse said to solve the problem, the station needs pumps with more horsepower to handle the excess water flow, but the electrical service at the site is insufficient.
“When we suggested that to the city, they told us their treatment plant couldn’t handle the increase in volume,” he said.
Lemirande could not be reached to confirm Frehse’s comment.
“We’re at a stalemate,” Frehse added.
The city has used two pumps in the leachate pit, and the east pump is the one that has failed repeatedly. For the past year, the system has run with only one pump, and the City Council agreed the system can continue to operate this way. The repaired pump will be available as a potential replacement.
Lemirande said when the replacement pump is put in place, the city might want to consider redesigning the system. The cost to remove the existing pumping equipment and replace it with submersible pumps was estimated at $58,500.
According to the city treasurer, Eve Wallace, the cost of the current system, installed five years ago, was $20,138.
Although the city pays a service charge for Brabazon to remove the broken pumps and reinstall working ones, the repair costs are covered under warranty for one year.
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