KINGSLAND -- Daily inspections of 40 wastewater pumping stations in Kingsland may soon end. But it's not because of a manpower or budget problem.
The city installed a wireless alarm monitor on one of its pumping stations on a trial basis last month. It has worked so well since it was installed May 23, the public works department has convinced the city manager's office to ask for funding to have the monitors installed on every pumping station in the city.
The monitors, about the size of a cellular telephone, alert the public works department via satellite of any malfunction and the location of the pumping station, by sending a message through a beeper.
The new monitors allow workers to determine problems such as clogged lines, high wastewater levels, and hot pump temperatures, which could indicate a malfunction, such as a worn motor bearing -- all from the public works office in Kingsland.
City workers can even monitor the pump from their homes, using a password to get onto the system, said C.J. LeBlanc, deputy director of public works.
"It's cheap insurance," LeBlanc said. "It lets us know in advance of any problems."
Timely response to problems such as an overheating pump or electrical short circuit can mean the difference between a relatively inexpensive replacement of a worn bearing, for example, or the expense of replacing an entire pump if the problem is undetected for a prolonged period, LeBlanc said.
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Wireless wastewater pump monitors tested in Kingsland would alert the public works department to any malfunction and the location of the pumping station.
-- Chris Viola/staff
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Even worse, the city could face fines from the state if a pump malfunctions, resulting in a sewage spill, LeBlanc said.
Jim Harris, an environmental engineer with the state Environmental Protection Department, said larger cities such as Brunswick and Savannah are already using the monitors, but Kingsland is one of the smaller cities in his 26-county district moving toward the new system.
Problems are "almost non-existent" in cities using the monitors, he said.
"It's fairly cutting-edge for this area," Harris said. "I think it's a good idea because you catch problems before they occur. I wish more cities would install this system."
Currently, city workers drive to each pumping station daily to inspect the gauges, monitor running temperatures of the pumps and the amount of time each one has run to determine any problems.
The existing method, however, doesn't give workers the information they need to correct minor problems before they become serious, LeBlanc said. And workers spend hours each day on the inspections that could be spent elsewhere dealing with other public works projects, said Matt Casserly, a city maintenance technician.
"We won't have to come around and look for problems," Casserly said. "Overall, it's pretty simple."
The trial monitor has already saved the city money by alerting maintenance workers that a pump was clogged with rags flushed down a toilet, causing a second pump at the station to perform double duty, LeBlanc said. City workers unclogged the line and possibly saved the city the expense of replacing a pump that could have burned out from running too long, he said.
If the City Council votes to purchase the monitors, which will cost about $35,000 for the entire system, LeBlanc said it will save the city at least $5,000 a year in repair costs, not to mention the time employees can spend working on other projects.
Workers will still make routine visits to each station, but will be looking for problems such as vandalism and tears in the fencing that surround each pump.
"It's so cost-effective, it needs to be done," LeBlanc said. "We have so many lift stations in remote areas."
Staff writer Gordon Jackson can be reached at (912) 729-3672 or via e-mail at gjackson
jacksonville.com.
