Reductions in river flows have resulted in lower flows through the Jamestown sanitary sewer and a reduced tension among city officials, according to Reed Schwartzkopf, city engineer.
"The situation is a little more relaxed than it was a few months ago," he said. "We are seeing some effect on the sewer system with the flow reductions."
Schwartzkopf said the peak of flows this year had been about 8.2 million gallons per day. The current flows are about 5 million to 5.2 million gallons per day.
"We're still above the 2 million gallons per day that is normal this time of year," he said. "It's high but it's manageable."
The decreases in flows through the sewer system vary around Jamestown. Some lift stations near the river are seeing decreases of up to 60 percent while others in town have seen about 30 percent reductions.
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Releases from Jamestown Reservoir are 500 cubic feet per second while 515 cfs is being released from Pipestem Dam. This totals a combined release of 1,015 cfs flowing through Jamestown, according to information released from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Releases will continue to be decreased as the reservoirs approach the flood control storage levels. Jamestown Reservoir is currently 0.4 feet above its planned winter level of 1,429.8 feet while Pipestem Reservoir must be reduced by 5.5 feet before it reaches its planned winter level of 1,442.5 feet. The two reservoirs should reach the flood control levels by the middle of November if normal precipitation occurs, the corps said.
Water infiltration into the sewer pipes has been blamed for the high flows through the sewer system. The infiltration occurs when the ground becomes saturated due to the high river flows. The city is in the planning stages for a $5.7 million project that will address those issues.
"We're working on the engineering request for proposal," Schwartzkopf said. "We hope to choose the engineering consultant by the end of this year so we can look at construction next year."
The project is planned for two construction seasons and would increase the pumping capacity of the Jamestown sewage lift stations to 12 million gallons per day.
Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at 701-952-8452 or by email at knorman@jamestownsun.com
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
