Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District Superintendent Tim Woodward explains the profiles of wells in the district’s system. A spot for a test boring has been marked and a transistor installed so that Woodward can keep an eye on water levels in the wells. At a time of dry weather and an approaching holiday, this is especially important. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

CROMWELL — Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District Superintendent Tim Woodward informed the board that progress is beginning on test boring to potentially replace a deteriorated well constructed in 1963. As of the meeting Monday, June 17, Ortland Drilling & Water Services has now marked the spot where they intend to drill a test boring hole. They have also installed a transistor so that the district can monitor water levels.

With this month’s heat wave and the approach of the 4th of July holiday, Woodward is keeping an eye on the water levels in the district’s wells. According to Woodward, water levels were at 42 feet above the screen at the bottom of the well that morning. Around 2 p.m., levels were at 39 feet due to the dry weather. The plant is currently running double the usual amount of water.

“We’re up to 65,000 gallons a day, we were pumping 30,000 but it’s dry out,” Woodward explained. “But it’s still pretty good, we’re still way above the screen.”

Woodward is confident in the district’s ability to handle the demands placed on their system at this time of year.

“We had a record Memorial Day,” he said. “We ran at 1.1 all day with no issues.”

This means the plant ran 1.1 million gallons of water that day. This is over its design capacity of 0.37 million, or 370,000 gallons per day, but below its peak capacity of 2.3 million gallons per day.

The biggest day of the year for the Turkey Creek Sewer District is the 4th of July. During the holiday, water flow vastly increases around Lake Wawasee.

“Last 4th of July we ran at double design capacity,” Woodward reported.

The district received a notice from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management stating groundwater systems serving less than 3,300 customers must sample for PFAS twice a year starting in 2027. A test has already been conducted on the Turkey Creek systems, which came back negative for PFAS, a class of harmful chemicals. Some of this testing will count towards the initial monitoring requirements.

Woodward reported the district may be seeking a new contract for maintenance of its generators in the future. Currently, the district’s 22 generators are serviced by W.W. Williams for $580 per generator per year. Recently, Woodward said he has had problems with the company invoicing him for services they didn’t perform. He is looking at quotes from other companies, although “Williams is very good,” he said.

Woodward said it may be a matter of renegotiating their current contract then outright canceling it. Further discussion is needed between W.W. Williams and the district.

The board’s attorney, Andy Boxberger, will be looking into helping the district get legal recourse for the number of locates done lately. With fiber optic cable installation going on in the area, Turkey Creek employees have been called out to locate a high number of water lines.

“We did 200 locates in two weeks,” Woodward said. He stated companies sometimes don’t complete installation within two weeks, requiring employees to perform the locate again, and that landscapers often move the location flags. The sheer number of locates has driven up overtime hours for Turkey Creek employees.

“We can’t have a rate increase because overtime is up,” said Woodward.

With Boxberger’s help, the district may be able to pursue legal options to deal with companies that continue to call their employees out for the same locates.

“After a certain number of times doing the same locate, there may be some recourse,” said Boxberger. Further information on this matter is pending.

In the engineering report, Jeff Hersha of Jones & Henry Engineers stated he has submitted the final request for disbursement of leftover funds in accrued interest from the district’s East Shore/North Shore project. The funds, of which there are just under $8,000, can be used to reimburse costs from other projects. He is expecting a response by the end of the week.

Hersha also reported that Shipman Consulting, the firm conducting the income rate study for the district, has submitted their report to the State Revolving Fund. This includes an expanded section on disadvantage communities.

According to Hersha, the district should know by Monday, July 1, how they scored and what their potential grant funding is for their planned improvement projects.

The next Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District Board meeting will be Monday, July 15.