On Monday night the Normal Town Council Approved Spending $137,010 for three storage tank mixers to ensure the water supply is cleaner and safer in town. Mixers prevent chemical and thermal stratification and reduction of the chlorine residual. Maintaining adequate chlorine residuals in the water distribution system is important for public health.
The Water Department maintains four elevated storage tanks. These storage tanks were built between 1950 and 2010. Three of the elevated tanks have experienced episodes of low chlorine residuals, stratification, nitrification and poor water circulation. These problems are typical of elevated storage tanks designed with a single connection which serves as both the influent and effluent of the tank.
In 2009, Town Council awarded a contract to SolarBee for the installation of a SolarBee mixing system in the three elevated storage tanks. The system performed adequately for the Town for several years, however, over the past two or three years, Water Department staff has seen a gradual decrease in the efficiency of the current mixers. Those three mixers are at the end of their useful life.
In 2021 the town replaced the existing west reservoir mixer with a PAX mixer. Staff has been extremely happy with the function of the PAX mixer.
No Estimate of What Normal Plans to Spend on Rivian Vehicles
Due to the uniqueness of tank mixers, it is desirable for maintenance purposes to have all of the tank mixers provided by one manufacturer. Therefore council waived the formal bidding process so the town could purchase PAX mixers.
The new mixers will be installed in the Main St., Pine St. and Warehouse Rd. tanks. Installation is planned to occur during the next three months.
In other action, the Normal Town Council also approved purchasing two vehicles from Rivian; a truck and a utility vehicle. The measure passed in a four to three vote split with council members Kathleen Lorenz, Stan Nord and Scott Preston voting against the purchase.
