By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Bronson Town Manager Susan Beaudet Monday told town council members she is planning to ask a non-profit consulting group to conduct a Capacity Analysis Study (CAP) to figure out exactly how to meet the town’s growing water needs before it exceeds its current permit issued by the Suwannee River Water Management District.
Beaudet said she and Mayor Robert Partin plan to visit SRWMD to discuss adding more pumping capacity to its current permit of 85 million gallons of water use per year before a new 50-unit subdivision in town comes online and before a commercial complex featuring a Jiffy Store, package store and Hardees Restaurant is finished next year.
“Right now, we’re at 80 million gallons, so between Stoney Smith’s new place (at the traffic light) that’s going in and the new subdivision we’re definitely exceeding that capacity,” she said.
Another challenge the town faces is the fact that it doesn’t have enough water pressure to supply the fire suppression system at the new $1.8 million state-funded fire station next door to the Levy County Extension Office on U.S. 27A in the north part of town.
The city has talked about installing a 12 inch well costing $160,000 at the fire station to ensure that the required 600 to 800 gallons of water per minute for the fire suppression sprinkler system can be met. Construction of the fire station may be finished in February but the building can’t be occupied until the water pressure issue is resolved.
Beaudet said she and Partin will visit the Levy County Commission Tuesday morning to discuss the city’s water challenges and then travel to SRWMD to discuss the water permit and other water-related issues with the agency.
Among the many irons in the fire for the town, staff members are in discussions with Cedar Key and Otter Creek about the possibility of Bronson selling water to both towns. Partin said an interlocal agreement is being written to allow all three communities, the county commission, and SRWMD to explore the idea of Bronson selling water to Otter Creek and Cedar Key.
Beaudet said the CAP water capacity study will examine, among other things, whether the city should upgrade its two aging water wells that are pumping at well below capacity. One of the wells is designed to pump 800 gallons per minute but is pumping 400 gallons per minute. The other is supposed to pump 400 gallons per minute but is pumping 200 gallons per minute.
But the city first has to figure how to supply its own water needs before it seriously considers pumping drinking water 30 miles along State Road 24 to Otter Creek and Cedar Key.
“We’re not sure if we should rehab those two wells and if that would give us enough capacity or should we add a third well because of everything that’s going on,” Beaudet said. “What would be the best location for the third well? Is it at the new fire station or somewhere else? The fire station is 1.6 miles from the water tower.”
Another potential solution was mentioned as a way to increase water pumping capacity. Beaudet said it is called “frying the lines,” which involves pumping one chemical through the line and then a second chemical to clear out debris like calcium “build-ups.”
“We’re trying to attack this from every angle we can, rehabilitating wells, adding an additional well, frying the lines, whatever we have to do, but this capacity analysis is the very thing that can tell us what the capacity of the current system is and what we need for the new fire station and what we need for the new subdivision,” Beaudet said.
She said a nonprofit organization known as the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Program (SERCAP) recently mapped out the entire town’s sewer system and was planning to start mapping its water system, but she said she told representatives of SERCAP they needed to focus immediately on the capacity analysis as the top priority. The organization asked for a $1,200 donation to do the work and the town council approved it.
Bronson Assistant Fire Chief Gail Foote told council members the issue isn’t water pressure.
“The issue is distribution lines from what I understand. The lines aren’t big enough to supply the volume we need. The pressure’s not a problem,” he said. “If the lines aren’t big enough or there’s some type of chokepoint to restrict the volume going through, there’s not enough where we need it at the fire hydrant.”
Foote said fire hydrants near the fire tower are flowing at 1,000 gallons a minute but the fire hydrants in the middle of town are flowing at 400 gallons a minute.
“They should all be flowing at 1,000 gallons a minute, so something restricting the flow, either a value’s shut off or the pipes are clogged or something,” he said.
Lack of adequate water pressure can hamper efforts to fire fires.
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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting December 6, 2021; Posted December 7, 2021
