Water pressure concerns continue

Grant residents continue to express concern over water pressure. City Engineer Tom Werblow was present at the July 25 Grant City Council meeting with an update. 

Werblow said City Employees Randy Heinemann and Gary Beckler have done some tests on water pressure. They planned on completing a test of the water system itself to make sure valves were operating correctly, however, because the water levels in the wells are currently low and the tests require them to flow hydrants, they have decided to wait to perform those tests until the wells recover. 

He said they will continue to check the homes having problems and see what can be done. 

“When you stick a meter or anything in between the service and the main that supplies the water, the pressure is going to be different than what it was previously,” he noted.

Dennis Goodin of Grant was present to voice his concerns about the water pressure at his home since meters have been installed. He said when the sprinklers are on, washing dishes becomes difficult. He questioned if there is a plan to fix the problem, as he does not want to proceed the next 15 years with pressure problems. 

Werblow said Goodin’s residence was actually one of those checked, and he will be looking at it again along with several others. 

Lisa Schmitt asked her residence be added to the list. She said if the dishwasher, washing machine or sprinklers are running, her shower operates poorly. 

Mavis Goodin, Dennis’ wife, said she has the same problem with her shower. She is concerned the bad water pressure will decrease their property value. 

Larry Peterson of Grant questioned how the meters can be accurate if everyone has a different water pressure and the meters are calibrated at a certain pressure. 

Werblow said the meters are not calibrated at a certain pressure, so the pressure will not affect the reading. He said they are sold as conforming to American Water Works Association standards, and the accuracy is plus or minus 2 percent. 

Robin Quinn stated the city installed the water meters to save water and save money. However, she questioned if more water will end up being used due to issues such as running the dishwasher twice because the dishes didn’t get clean the first time. 

She noted the problem may be more widespread than they realize. 

Public comment statement

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Property declared nuisance

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Nuisance property abated

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