10-10-2007 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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.cIgDIH6 41SSO(I-11TtS TAU MORI Memo TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Lee Elfering, City Engineer DATE: October 4, 2007 RE: City Watermain System Improvements As was mentioned at last months meeting, the City has been reviewing options for water system improvements to provide adequate domestic water and fire flow service to the proposed St. Jude project. The City is looking at making improvements to the City system that will not only adequately service the new St. Jude facility, but will provide benefit to the entire southwest corner of the City. Background The southwest corner of the City north of TH 36 has historically been an area of lower water pressures and fire flows. Property owners in this area have complained periodically about poor water pressures and flows for several years and maintenance staff has also expressed concerns regarding the water system in the area. The water model that the City authorized in March has provided numerical data to substantiate what has been suspected in regards to pressures and fire flows being some of the poorest if not the poorest in City. The largest factor affecting the water system pressures and flows in this corner of the City is its high elevation. In relative terms, the area along Rice Street between Minnesota Street and County Road B2 is approximately 70 feet higher than the ground elevation at the City water tower. That coupled with its distance from the water tower and the lack of a trunk watermain in the area, results in some of the poorest flows and pressures in the City. However, the largest factor affecting the system is the elevation of the area. Current City System The City has a current water system with one means of storage and one means of production. The single 1.5 million gallon water tower located next to City Hall is utilized for storage and all water is supplied by St. Paul Regional Water through the activation of three City booster pumps located off County Road B just east of the railroad tracks. The maximum water elevation in the tower is approximately 1070 and the bottom of the water bowl is approximately 1020. The system typically operates off the tower during the day and the booster pumps fill the tower during the night. The tower is also equipped with a low level alarm to protect against the water tower from being run dry and on high water use days during the summer the City does utilize a generator to run the booster pumps during the day to accommodate the higher water use. It is important to note that there are cross connections with the City of Roseville water system to be utilized in emergency situations if necessary. 10062 Flanders Court NE — Blaine, MN 55449 — Ph: (763) 780 -0450 Fax (763) 780 -0452 Memo-100407-CC (City Water System Improvements)