Check valves to be replaced at Charlotte wastewater pump station

Charlotte’s wastewater pump station at the Town Green is getting some work in the form of valve and check-valve replacement. The issue of replacing the valves was on the agenda at the Sept. 11 meeting of the Selectboard.

The project would see replacements for the existing system. There had been a failure of a pump station earlier this year, and a temporary fix was put into place. A more permanent solution has been needed.

The Selectboard considered two bids. One bid was high, the other reasonably priced, and there was not much luck finding anyone else who wanted to do the work, one Selectboard member noted during the meeting.

Ferguson Waterworks of Colchester will provide the parts for the project. Steve Williams, who has a longstanding relationship with the town, will provide the labor, with the job taking approximately one day.

Check valves prevent sewage from running back into the tank, Selectboard member Fritz Tegatz explained at the meeting. These, he said, normally fail every so often. When they do fail, the result is that the pump runs continuously. This would lead to replacing the pump itself, which would be a much more costly undertaking.

After several minutes of discussion regarding the matter, members voted unanimously to approve the replacements, with the cost for the project not to exceed $4,500.