Russellville lifts water restriction

Thursday, August 23, 2012

RUSSELLVILLE -- With precipitation returning to the area in recent weeks, the Russellville Town Council no longer believes there is a need to continue imposing a water restriction on town residents, so it was lifted on Tuesday.

The ordinance had been in place since July 16.

In addition to the drought, one of the two pumps in Russellville broke down in July.

This put added strain on the rest of a water system that was already overworked.

Replacing the damaged parts cost the town around $22,000.

"It had to be done," council president Don Reddish said. "When we replaced it, we replaed it with one that will be compatible with the one we'll be using."

The town has been working toward making large changes to the filtration system that has been in place for several decades.

The new north well pump may make that transition smoother.

After installation, town water superintendent Mike Varvel and street superintendent Jim McAfee were required to spend an extra couple weeks testing the pump and checking water levels.

"We're up and running," Reddish said. "He (Varvel) told me that there were no problems with our wells, that our water levels were fine and that if we wanted to lift them (the restrictions), we can."

With the pump now out of the way, the town council will be able turn its water-related attention to the filtration project.

In the past, funding for the project had been difficult.

The town received a grant to replace water mains only after the filtration part was left off of the proposal.

Now, with some of the costs already paid for, there is renewed hope on the council that something can be done.

The water main project has yet to begin, but the council is already eyeing the next step.

In addition to the water restriction, the town also agreed to lift its burn ban on Tuesday, matching the county repeal.

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