This week's headlines

The Orchard City Town Board remains interested in pursuing a small hydroelectric generating turbine at the water treatment plant.

Even after a number of setbacks and delays in planning, and an investment payback period longer than originally hoped for, trustees remain hopeful about the venture.

They have placed it on the agenda for a special work session that will take place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

In addition to the hydropower project, the trustees are scheduled to discuss automation improvements to the water storage facility on Tank Hill. An operating model for the entire town water system that could be used for dealing with situations and predicting results of procedures will also be discussed.

The trustees discussed their hydropower project at a Nov. 7 work session and worked through problems, both recent and ongoing, that the project has had with meeting deadlines and nailing down costs.

The hydro project has accumulated additional components and costs since it was first proposed. The original payback period for the project, which is designed to cut utility costs at the water treatment plant, was estimated at eight to 10 years. Now, the trustees are looking at configurations that would extend that payback period from 12 years to almost 17 years.

• < Prev
• Next >