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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Miscellaneous_07/16/1990_Finance & Administration Committee VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 • 357 Tequesta Drive Tequesta, Florida 33469 -0273 • (407) 575 -6200 ' FAX: (407) 575 -6203 h i C F I N A N C E A N D A D M I N I S T R A T I O N C O M M I T T E E M E E T I N G M I N U T E S J U L Y 1 6, 1 9 9 0 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Finance & Administration Committee of the Village Council held a Committee Meeting on Monday, July 16, 1990 in the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Earl L. Collings. Finance & Administration Committee Co- Chairman Joseph N. Capretta and Village Councilmember William E. Burckart were also in attendance. Staff members present were: Village Manager, Thomas G. Bradford; Tom Hall, Water Department; Bill Kascavelis, Finance Director. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA The Agenda was approved as submitted. III. COMMITTEE REVIEW OF PROPOSED WATER TREATMENT PLANT MASTER PLAN Village Manager Bradford gave an overview of the subject matter of the meeting: At this time last year it was known that major amounts of improvements would be needed to the Water Treatment Plant, and that some point in time the Village would switch to R /0, and hopefully have additional surficial well approval from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) , which has been received. Prior to all this, a Master Site Plan was needed for the Plant to ensure everything would be in its proper place. Funds were allocated for the Master Site Plan for the Water Treatment Plant. The contract was awarded to Reese, Macon and Associates, Inc. engineering firm. Bill Reese, a principal of the firm, was in attendance today to brief the Committee on the proposed Master Site Plan for the Water Treatment Plant. Finance and Administration Committee Meeting Minutes July 16, 1990 Page 2 -------------------------- Co- Chairman Capretta asked if the priorities were in order as to what needs to be accomplished first, second, and third. Tom Hall gave the order of priority: 1) Build elevated storage tank; 2) Drill surficial wells, 3 west of the River, 1 east of the River; and 3) Go to R /O. The storage tank is the only item presently authorized. Mr. Reese posed questions which he thought the Committee would need answers to: How does one size a storage tank? - According to the need in order to meet the maximum daily flow requirements. There has been historically, in Tequesta, a large difference between average day and maximum day. The current equivalent plant capacity is 4.7, with 2.0 of that coming from Jupiter. Chairman Collings asked if there was a chance salt water intrusion would increase, and more rapidly. Mr. Reese answered the issue is not really salt water intrusion but increased consumption. Drilling a number of smaller wells would skim that thin lens of the fresh water off the top of the salt water, thereby avoiding salt water intrusion. Chairman Collings asked if it was conceivable that there were enough shallow wells already that are impacting the public utility. Mr. Reese answered it is conceivable to the point that it is a reality. The SFWMD and DER are each pushing hard in these communities for R /O. R/O is a practical necessity. Co- Chairman Capretta stated he could not understand why SFWMD would not let Tequesta drill several smaller wells, as residents are allowed to do, to get that skim of fresh water lying on the top, thereby delaying the need for R /O. Mr. Reese stated that SFWMD has a strong mindset which puts the Village in a position to prove them wrong. The burden would be on the Village to prove to SFWMD that it is not cost - effective for the Village to switch to R /O. It is more a politically motivated than a reality and a science. Chairman Collings asked regarding the cost of production if R/O would be more efficient if the existing plant was shut down. Mr. Reese felt it would not necessarily be more efficient. Mr. Collings stated he strongly favors R /O. Finance and Administration Committee Meeting Minutes July 16, 1990 Page 3 -------------------- - - - - -- How much water is required? The best conclusion is approximately 7mgd, with a usage rate of 2mgd from Jupiter, 2.6mgd generated by Tequesta, with a shortfall of 2.4mgd. Whatever is done, it is important to do it on a phased basis and a projection of five years. The plant can be expanded beyond that. The R/O building would accommodate the initial three phases. The water quality is a challenge. Chloride and /or sodium may be high. Other treatments, other than R /O, are available: i.e., electrodialysis or distillation. He would not recommend electrodialysis since it is relatively new. The purity of water is defined by how many solids are in it. Water will dissolve anything - the purer it is, the more it will dissolve anything. If water is too pure, it will dissolve the distribution system. Water must be stable - not 11 0" solids. Industry has not addressed post- treatment very satisfactorily. They have failed to inform that this will consume the distribution system. What is Reverse Osmosis? Reverse Osmosis (R /O) is a membrane process which enables separation of water from the solids dissolved in it. The solids are "dissolved ", not "filtered ". The membrane is the heart of the R/O system - the most expensive part. Chairman Collins asked if it would be cost - effective for Tequesta to go to R/O now, or is it better to wait five years for improvements to R/O facilities? Mr. Reese stated he did not think R/O plants would be built on a $ /gallon basis, excluding inflation, much less over the next five years. Mr. Reese displayed samples of a spiral -wound R/O membrane element and a Japanese membrane. It is reasonable to expect a membrane to last 5 -6 years. When a membrane ages, its ability to treat the water at the same level diminishes. With electrodialysis, the quality does not diminish, but the power cost escalates. Terms of R /O: 1) Recovery; 2) Rejection; 3) Scaling and Fouling; 4) Stages. Recovery: relates to quantity of water - the percent which becomes product after passing through the membrane. There will be a 70 -75% recovery for every gallon put into the plant. Rejection: Relates to quality of water - the percent of solids which do not go through the membrane. Ninety -five percent rejection is normal. Finance and Administration Committee Meeting Minutes July 16, 1990 Page 4 -------------------------- Scaling and Fouling: If a certain flow is not maintained, a concentration of waste is built up on the membrane surface, thereby causing fouling. Stages: A mechanism to extract as much product water out of the system as possible. A two -stage mechanism would be normal, but if the quality of the water is higher, three stages would be possible. The higher the quality of water, the more stages can be used to increase recovery. What are the components of an R/O plant? 1) Micron Filter to take care of the solids suspended in the water; 2) R/O system which takes out the dissolved matter; and 3) an aerator to take out the dissolved gases. Mr. Reese suggested the R/O system could possibly be placed just east of Harpoon Louie's, near the Coast Guard Station, basically Jupiter Inlet. This would give Tequesta a "leg up ", but it could be a permitting battle. The access would be a challenge. In designing the R/O system, materials would be a major concern, control a major concern - catastrophic failure is possible, caused from improper design. It is operationally possible to avoid this. R/O plants are not that complex and not difficult to put them together. It would take 24 -30 months lead time for an R/O plant to become operational. In designing the site, consideration was given to access, aesthetics, chemical delivery, expandability, controllability and incorporating the existing facilities. Chairman Collings suggested that Mr. Reese refine the Conceptual Cost Estimate by submitting a breakdown of the contingency and engineering amount and pointed out that nothing was quoted for the disposal portion. Chairman Collings and Co- Chairman Capretta had no concerns or problems with the proposed Water Treatment Plan Site Plan as presented. Mr. Collings asked if Mr. Reese would suggest anything different if Jupiter and Tequesta were to combine their water departments. He answered that there would then be no sense in Tequesta building an R/O plant. If SFWMD could have forced that issue, they would have forced it ten years ago. Mr. Reese closed by stating that R/O was a commitment, in a big way. Mr. Bradford stated that staf would proceed in utilizing the Master Plan for siting capital improvements in the days ahead. Finance and Administration committee Meeting Minutes July 16, 1990 Page 5 -------------------------- IV. ANY OTHER MATTERS There were no other matters before the Committee. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no other matters before the Committee, the. meeting was adjourned at 7:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Fran Bitters Recording Secretary /fgb Date Approved: ATT J I Bill Kas velis Finance Director /Village Clerk