By GLYNIS HART
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UNITY — At their Monday meeting the Sullivan County Board of Commissioners kept up to date with plans to renovate the Stearns-Saunders building complex in Unity, and heard the results of a study on the water supply system at the county complex.
Tim Knapp of Dufresne Group, consulting engineer, presented the Water System Management Plan for the county complex. The plan was funded by a grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES).
The county complex has three wells and two water storage tanks. Most of the water lines are ductile iron or PVC pipe, said Knapp. “They’re pretty young.
“Most of the system is in fair condition,” he said. “The probability of failure is low because of the age.”
Knapp remarked it was unusual for him to be hired to look at a system with no cast iron pipes.
The two storage tanks have wooden roofs that will need replacing eventually, at a cost of about $100,000 per tank.
“In the next 20 years there’s really nothing that jumps out. In the 2050s there could be a big whammy as all the stuff from the 1980s needs replacement,” he said.
Knapp recommended the county set aside $175,000 per year to meet all the replacement costs over time. “Save for 80 percent of replacement cost,” he advised. “The replacement year is based on estimated useful life.”
The plan did not take into account sewer lines due to restrictions on the grant, but municipalities generally try to replace sewer and water lines at the same time to save the cost of tearing up the roads twice. The fire suppression system also wasn’t included in the grant, which was only for drinking water studies.
Facilities director Mary Bourque said the next step for her department will be to study how much water would be needed for a major event, such as a fire at the complex. There’s no problem with water production from the wells. A previous meeting brought up the issue of the old water line running from Marshall Pond to the complex.
“Five hundred to 1,000 feet of line above Marshall Pond is underwater,” said Lionel Chute. “That can’t be good for the line.”
Knapp recommended the county set aside funds for future projects, and group projects together “to get the bang for your buck.”
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