HOLLY POND, Ala. – The Holly Pond Town Council on Monday evening got an update on planned repairs and renovations to the town’s sewer system, which currently suffers from leaks that introduce tremendous amounts of outside water, taxing dated and already stressed equipment at pumping stations and the water plant. In statistics shared at the meeting, Mayor Bill Oliver noted that, at times, up to 80% of the cost of running the two pump stations is spent pumping rainwater from outside the system, and the problem has been getting worse over the last several years.
Tyler McKeller of Living Waters Services, which manages the town’s water system, and Tim Riley of InSite Engineering told the council they are trying to get a $680,000 dollar loan that will be paid back at 2.2% interest over 20 years. They agreed more money will be required to do everything needed; McKeller told the council a shortage of system access points (manholes) would force the Town to simply pick spots and start digging to find all the problems, a process that could cost millions of dollars.
Instead, according to Riley, Living Waters and Insite will take what money they get and figure out how to do as much as possible with what they have, with tasks including:
- Smoke testing the sewer system to narrow down specific areas of concern
- Remote video camera inspection of the inside of the system in specified areas, as far as the cameras will reach, then initiating repairs
- Replacing pumps and control panels at the pump stations
- Making as many repairs as possible at the water plant with whatever funds are left over from other work
McKeller expressed the opinion that the operations savings the Town would see from repairs would offset much of the cost of the loan over time.
Other council business
The council voted to participate in a county-wide program among municipalities to pool census grant money to promote the 2020 Census in each municipality through festival-style community outreach events.
The council also voted to make a $518.70 donation in response to a request from the Cullman County Emergency Management Agency (EMA). Each municipality in the county receives a request from EMA based on population.
The Holly Pond Town Council meets at 7 p.m. on the first Monday of each month at the Guy Hunt Library. The public is invited to attend.
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