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Last updated on Sunday, December 23, 2012
(SALEM) - Engineer Derrick Wiggins, of Midwest Engineers reported to the Salem’s Board of Works and Public Safety that representatives of his firm have completed field work in preparation for a report needed as part of the application process of applying for a loan from USDA to make changes to Lake Salinda.
Marcia Walker, of the Leader Democrat reports, Wiggins says all the field work is done and now they are compiling a preliminary engineering report.
Midwest was low bidder for the project, submitting a bid of $15,000. That covers both the cost of preliminary engineering work and the cost of preparing the application.
Wiggins said the field work involved mapping the bottom of the lake and measuring its depth. Also, soil samples were taking to test for chemicals, to determine if the material removed from the lake bottom can be land applied.
According to Wiggins the next step is submit the finished report to the board of works for approval, then submit the application to the USDA. He says the application could be ready for submission by the end of spring.
According to Mayor David Bower, when the lake was built in 1947, it encompassed about 127 acres. Due to siltation, it now covers an estimated 80 acres. Part of plans for this project is building retention basins to help control the silt.
Bower mentioned other ideas he hopes to pursue to find additional water sources for the city. One of those ideas is looking for sites for wells in the area of the Muscatatuck and White rivers.
He says East Washington Water Corporation is interested in partnering with Salem.
Bower says well water is cheaper to treat because of its consistent quality.
During November, 63,020,700 gallons of water was pumped to the city's distribution system, all from Lake John Hay. The combined peak day was 2,208,00 gallons on Nov. 29; the combined low pumping day was 1,932,000 gallons on Nov. 10. The combined average daily usage was 2,100,690 gallons.
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