By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
Lake Orion Village Council took steps at Monday night’s board meeting to begin combating what has become an ongoing conversation about Lake Orion’s water system.?
The talk has been about several fire hydrants marked with black caps around the village and the low water main pressure they indicate. Hydrants marked with a black cap identify that residual water main pressures of those hydrants are lower than 20psi, the recommended standard.?
Because the village Department of Public Works has determined that it is not the fire hydrants or the system valves causing the lower pressures on several of the islands, the thought now is that iron sediment is building up in the 50-to-80-year-old system.?
Village Manager Darwin McClary announced Monday that DPW crews would cut three sections of water main to take a look inside, as soon as the weather clears and in correlation with the regular DPW schedule.
The pipe samples will help determine whether sediment is clogging the pipes, and help determine the extent of the water system’s capital needs.
As of now, McClary thinks a section will be cut from Heights Rd., from near Bellevue and Highland roads, and a section off Central Dr.?
McClary said there is no definite timeframe right now, but the process will begin as quickly as possible.?
Also approved Monday was the $13,700 engineering contract to have village engineers Hubbell Roth and Clark prepare bid specifications for six dry water hydrants.?
A dry hydrant, running about $15,000 to $20,000 each, in simplest terms, is a tube that is placed in the lake water at a certain depth. The other end comes up to the shore with a fire department connection. It is not connected to the actual water main, and therefore is viewed as a supplementary means to fight a fire in areas where traditional fire hydrants are marked with black caps.?
Orion Township Fire Chief Robert Smith recommended installing as many as 12 dry hydrants in the necessary areas.
An initial six areas the village may begin with includes sections off Heights Rd., the Bellevue/Highland area, the Fairview Dr./Sheron Dr. area, and Bridge St., with more to be determined once engineering plans are complete.?
“We want to go out with the engineers together and drive around and say this will work, that won’t work, because even looking at a map you can’t tell,” Chief Smith said. “The problem being, that’s going to take up about 50 feet of frontage on either side of the dry hydrant to get trucks in and out, and people party on the fourth of July. We’re going to lose parking spots and everything.”
McClary ventures it will take about two to three months for the bid process to be complete, and then there are a few easements to acquire before construction can begin.?
A flux of concerns regarding water safety has flooded village council members conversation these past couple meetings.?
Council member Christian Mills Monday asked the question more than once to engineer Tom Biehl: ‘Is our water safe???
‘Where you get into trouble is when you have a fire and pull that residual water pressure [of the fire hydrant supply] down to 0psi, which has happened in a few cases. It would have to go down to 0psi, and you would also have to have a break in that main at the same time to suck material in,? Biehl said.?
‘If you draw it down to 0psi you could actually break the main, and that would be an issue.?
Static pressures have remained around 40psi, which is good, Biehl said.?
It’s just if they drop to below 20psi that concerns arise if simultaneously there is a fire in the same vicinity.?
McClary said that type of situation is a rare occurrence, and that the fire department knows not to use the hydrants with a black cap if there is a fire.?
‘The chances of that happening are slim to none,? McClary said.?
If, however, those hydrants with the black cap are used to fight the fire, potentially it would create a negative pressure issue, or back siphoning, of water from the pumper back into the potable water system.?
That’s when possible contaminants could leach into the water, but McClary assured the village would do all due diligence to notify the public and issue boil water alerts.?
Whenever there is a water main break the fire department is notified, he added, and they know not to use the black capped hydrants now that they are all marked.?
The village conducts lead and copper chemical tests every three years. The most recent data is from 2014, which is well under acceptable levels, McClary said.?
‘I’ve looked at the January bacteriological test. They’ve all come back fine. We post our annual water quality report on our website so anyone can see if we have any issues with water tests that year,? McClary said, confirming the water is as comparable to Orion Township’s and Detroit’s.?
Biehl noted that the village’s water supply is soft water, not corrosive water.
President Ken Van Portfliet also made the point that if fires are fought with alternative water means, like the dry hydrants, the water will also remain safe.?
‘Notify Me!, It’s highly important that people pay attention to that,? Van Portfliet said.?
Notify Me! is the village messenger tool used to send out developing information and alerts when necessary. Residents can register for Notify Me! at’lakeorionvillage.org, and are encouraged to do so.?