Village well water to get

New Purification System Warwick — New state regulations will require the Village of Warwick to purify its well water using methods similar to those used at its reservoirs. Mayor Michael Newhard said the village currently meets Board of Health standards using chlorine gas to purify its well water. The state, however, has increased those standards with what Newhard calls “belt and suspenders” purification levels. “There is no problem with the well,” said Newhard. “This is preventative maintenance. It is now purified to Board of Health standards. Now we will have belt and suspenders purification levels.” The village received a letter from the health department in December stating that well #2 would have to comply with these standards within 18 months. Infiltration from ground water causes some impurity in the water, which is where the chlorine gas does its job. That won’t be up to snuff with the new regulations. Newhard said the village engineer has looked at three filtration systems for the well: direct filtration, which uses sand filters, diatomaceous filtration, which uses the skeletal remains of single celled organisms, and micro filtration, a semi-automated system using self-cleaning strainers. The board voted to go to bid for the micro filtration system, which has an alarm and will still include the chlorine gas process. Estimated costs range from $580,000 to $621,000 for the new system to be housed, engineered and in place. The micro filtration system was the most expensive to install but the least expensive to run at approximately $10,000 per year. The diatomaceous system would cost $580,000 and $13,000 annually. The direct filtration system would be $593,000 and $16,000 to operate. The village planned to bond this project and it is part of the current budget. However, Newhard said the board would look into grants for it, including the federal Housing and Urban Development grant which is administered by the county and could bring in up to $125,000. He said the board would research and see if this project would qualify for the HUD grant. The village may be doing some recycling with this project as well. Newhard said that potentially the village can use the old pavilion from Veteran’s Memorial Park to house the filtration system, which has to be completely enclosed. The project is expected to take about a year to complete.