Hartley names new water superintendent

A familiar face is Hartley's new water superintendent.

The city council on Aug. 31 agreed to hire Terry Hilbert for the open position during a special meeting. His wage was set at $31.25/hour. Hilbert succeeds Andrew Petty, and was the lone applicant for the open position.

Hilbert previously served as superintendent of public works in Hartley for three years before retiring in 2018. Prior to that, he was water superintendent from 1995-2015 and also worked for the street department and police department dating back to 1982.

Hilbert has done part-time work for the city following his retirement as an affidavit operator during past "times of transition," according to Superintendent of Public Works Curtis Conaway.

"He would do required testing, fill out monthly reports, and generally look over the plant," he explained. "A Grade 2 treatment and Grade 2 distribution are needed to operate our plant/system. Terry actually has a Grade 2 treatment and Grade 3 distribution."

In other business, the council approved wording of a statement to homeowners affected by sewer backups last November. The move came by request from City Administrator Roxann Swanson.

"The property owners requested documentation after the sewer backup so they would have a record of the event should they sell their home in the future," she explained. "The letter with this statement text was only sent to two residents that were affected."

The following is the verbiage that was approved:

"On November 8, 2022, a steady rainfall throughout the day caused sewer backup in a number of homes in Hartley. A variety of factors appeared to have been involved.

It was discovered following the incident that a bypass valve from the previous lift station had been left open. The valve would have been installed in the 1960's or 1970's and allowed the city to bypass the lift station if it were to lose power instead of flooding out basements.

The open valve caused water to back up into the wet well of the newly installed lift station as the city received enough rainfall in a brief time. The added water caused the lift station to pump significantly more than normal, which overtook the system.

A significant amount of black grit was found in sewer lines following the incident, which also likely contributed to the issue.

None of the homes sustaining damage had check valves installed.

The line has been televised and jetted to remove any remaining grit, and the new lift station can function as intended during periods of heavy precipitation."