Jefferson City leaders are scheduled to address the ongoing water system issues and request funding for fresh equipment during a city council work session Tuesday afternoon, according to City Manager James Gallup and Public Works Director Porter Massengill.
The update comes after weeks of disruptions stemming from faulty filtration membranes that caused low water pressure or complete outages for customers served by Jefferson City’s processing plant. Replacement membranes were installed, restoring water levels to normal, but officials say a long-term solution requires further investment.
Massengill will present a proposal for a $35,000 motor to replace the existing pump serving the Oak Hills tank, which has undergone two previous rewinds. A third rewind is not recommended, necessitating a replacement. A $21,000 Varying Frequency Drive (VFD) is proposed for another pump supplying the Oak Hills tank, intended to provide redundancy. A further $10,000 VFD is requested as a backup to maintain finish water flow to the clear well.
All three requests – the motor and the two VFDs – require amendments to the city budget and authorization from the city council. The meeting is set to begin at 5 p.m. At the Jefferson City Municipal Building.
The current issues follow what Jefferson City Utilities Superintendent Brian Rodgers described as “a perfect storm” earlier this month, leading to a declared state of emergency in the county. At that time, the filtration membranes were only providing 4.3 or 4.4 million gallons per day, down from a target of 5.3 million gallons. Initial estimates from Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions, the city’s contracted partner, suggested a four-month correction timeline, though City Manager Gallup expressed growing optimism as the membranes became available.
Jefferson City’s Water & Sewer services are managed by the Public Works department and the Water Plant, with the stated goal of providing quality water and sanitary sewer disposal to the community.
