A Lena well, closed for two years when high levels of radium were detected, is back in use behind the Village Hall.
On Feb. 12, the village began pumping water through its newly constructed treatment facility, which removes radium from Well No. 1 water.
Radium is a naturally occurring metal that can be found in ground water. According to a Department of Natural Resources brochure, long-term exposure to elevated levels of radium might result in an increased risk of bone cancer.
The village constructed a 70- by 42-foot water treatment facility on village land as part of a $3.4 million project that also provides infrastructure upgrades and other improvements.
Water from Well No. 1 is now pumped through a system equipped with Hydrous Manganese Oxide radium removal technology. The radium in the water is absorbed onto the surface of HMO particles, which are filtered out through sand and gravel, then sent to the village’s sanitary sewer.
Once the water is treated, it is pumped into the distribution system.
In mid-February, Lena Utility Director Bergeson performed a radium test on the water leaving the plant; results will be available in four to six weeks.
The village, even without the results, is confident radium levels are in compliance, based on a pilot study done in fall 2013 and results of a recent manganese test that indicate the plant is successful in radium removal.
“It seems to be a very efficient process and cost effective,” Bergeson said.
He said the new treatment process is running well, and the village has successfully changed directional flow in the water mains.
“Previously, if we had a main break in certain areas, it would shut down a large part of the village,” Bergeson said. “Now we have more options to isolate that to a smaller area if there would be a problem.”
Water customers will notice little change in the water flowing from the tap, except for less staining on toilet bowls due to a reduction in the amount of iron in the water.
“One benefit to this treatment process is that it also takes out 100 percent of the iron and manganese in the water, too,” Bergeson said.
Bergeson said the village’s largest water consumer, Saputo Cheese, is also benefiting. The lesser amount of iron and manganese reduces stress on their filtration units, he said.
“They seem very happy with the quality of water the new treatment process is providing,” Bergeson said.
The water treatment system processes 400,000 gallons of water a day, with the potential to increase to 550,000 gallons of water when demand rises in the summer months.
Now that Well No. 1 is back online, Well No. 2 will be rehabbed, beginning in a few weeks. The wells had previously been operated in alternate cycles. With the shutdown of Well No. 1, the village used Well No. 2 exclusively.
Craig Schuh, an Ayres Associates engineer working with the village, said the exclusive use of Well No. 2 has impacted its life expectancy.
Well No. 2’s radium levels have been in compliance with EPA standards, so water from Well No. 2 will continue to simply be chlorinated and sent back into the system, as is the process now. Although the treatment plant is set up to filter water from Well No. 2, radium recovery is not needed, so it’s cost effective to bypass the process.
Aside from regular maintenance at the water treatment plant, the only thing needing replacement will be the sand used for filtering, and that won’t occur for 15 to 20 years, Schuh said. The rest of the system is built to last many decades, including the building exterior, which is a maintenance-free brick and block.
Bergeson can operate the treatment plant from an indoor control panel or remotely from a laptop or his phone.
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