By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Improving the water treatment system in Niles is being looked at in two parts. City Administrator Terry Eull said the equipment at the plant is aging and needs repairs and, a flow study is necessary to determine the success of the downtown separation project from 2004.
Physically, the equipment at the wastewater treatment is in good shape.
But, the machines are closing in on 30 years old, Eull added, and will need to be replaced at a cost of $19 million.
Part of the plan is conducting a rate study, which should find what the city can afford and also, how sewage treatment bills would be affected by the cost of repairs. Eull said a priority list of equipment needing attention will also be created.
The second part, a flow study, has Eull waiting for a long enough, and heavy enough, period of rain that can test the amount of water the system can handle.
It is too early in the process, Eull said, to have a complete plan laid out.
Eull said the city should know more information at a meeting that is scheduled for early March.