More chlorination — City is addressing more positive results in water
Newcastle water customers may notice a smell or taste of chlorine in their water as the city prepares to chlorinate and flush the entire distribution system — again.
According to Greg Stumpff, public works supervisor, the need to chlorinate and flush the system comes from ongoing positive total coliform positive samples throughout the water system.
Mayor Tyrel Owens said on Jan. 6, during the City Council meeting, that the water is not unsafe to drink because of the positive tests. He said that total coliform positive tests are a precursor, showing that there is a problem in the system that needs to be addressed.
The EPA recommended, Stumpff said, that the treatment includes treating and removing contamination of the water distribution system.
He told the News Letter Journal that the city has been working with Region 8 EPA for several years as issues arise.
“This latest positive test issue has been the most challenging one to address, primarily because we cannot pinpoint the source of the problem as it seems to not be in a localized area,” Stumpff said. “The difficulty with total coliform positive (TC+) samples is this issue spans several years with multiple positive TC results.”
He noted that problems are addressed as they arise.
Working closely with Region 8 EPA, Stumpff said, the city has worked for several years through level 1 and level 2 assessments, reviewing the results and locations to try to identify the root cause of each positive sample.
“At this time, we are now working to analyze the potential root cause(s) of all the issues that we have found,” he said. “Region 8 EPA typically reviews 10 years of sampling at a minimum.”
Stumpff noted that the list received from the EPA includes information from 2016 to the present.
“The random positive test results seem to have been increasing since 2018, according to the data we have reviewed,” he said.
The current issue, Stumpff said, is likely caused by a lack of replacement of critical water infrastructure, such as water mains. Stumpff noted that the easiest way for bacteria to enter the water system is from water main breaks.
According to Stumpff, some of the ongoing issues discovered through this process include issues from Tank No. 2, the orange tank. He said that one of the issues with the tank includes water age because of the design of the tank.
“Once we identified one of the design issues, to help with the stagnant water issue we installed a tank mixer to keep the water moving, which prevents stagnant water,” Stumpff said.
Water age issues also arise because the water enters and exits the tank from the same location, he said.
“If flows are low entering the tank, then the only water exchange is at this common point, thus creating water age issues with the rest of the 2.5 million gallons in the tank,” Stumpff said. “The project that we
are planning will separate the common inlet to the tank from the outlet of the tank, thus giving the water time to mix with the stored water in the tank before exiting to the distribution exit line.”
Another past issue, he said, was identified during the level 2 assessment and involved the type of sample stations the city purchased and installed in the existing meter pits.
“The sample stations were difficult to keep in a sanitary condition due to condensation, stormwater infiltration, insects in the meter pits, etc,” Stumpff said. “The EPA recommended we change to an above-ground station to eliminate the issues with the meter pit sample station issues that can cause false positive samples.”
He noted that the city has started to implement the recommendations.
Another major issue that causes TC+ samples, Stumpff said, is water main breaks, repair projects and replacement projects.
“A water system is much like the human body. If you open the human body, there is risk of infection,” he said.
“We have seen what we believe to be false positive samples due to sample station issues, operator error issues, replacement project issues. But, the recent issue does not seem to be any of those common issues, as we work with EPA on the locations and areas the results have come from,” Stumpff said. “The past few months’ water samples are evidence of a real issue – not water age in a tank, sample station sanitation, operator errors, maintenance/repair issues, or water main replacement issues. But something else.”
The diagnostic sampling performed in October 2024, he said, led to Tank No. 1, the tank on U.S. Highway 85 North.
“We chlorinated the tank, but the issue has continued to show up in sampling for November and December, indicating that the issue with Tank No. 1, despite cleaning and chlorinating the tank, is still happening, or the issue has moved into the water distribution system,” Stumpff said.
In addition to the positive sampling, he said the city has also received an increase in water quality complaints with residents complaining about their water smelling like rotten eggs.
“This is typically caused by bacteria growing in water heaters that create sulfur-producing bacteria,” Stumpff said. “This evidence supports the theory that we have bacteria in the water distribution system. While not all bacteria are bad to consume, there is potential for bad bacteria to grow.”
He noted that all of the city’s samples have been E. coli coliform negative.
“For this reason, we believe, along with Region 8 EPA, that the water is safe to drink,” Stumpff said. “EPA does not require boil orders for TC+ samples, only EC+ samples.”
This issue, according to Stumpff, is a driving force behind the capital improvements projects that he presented to the City Council and that the utility rate increases will pay for.
“Our CIP projects include projects to address the issues that are currently occurring, which I believe are a ‘day late and a dollar short,’” Stumpff said. “The Tank No. 2 project is projected during 2026 (and) will help with water age and stagnant water issues; Tank No. 1 (tank on Old Hwy. 85 north of town) will be replaced, addressing possible entry point contamination issues,” he said. “The rest of the 10-year plan works to address water main replacements of known weak points of the distribution system to reduce and prevent water main breaks introducing contamination of the water system.”
City Beats
Notes from the Jan. 6, 2025, meeting of the
Newcastle City Council
Mayor Tyrel Owens and Councilmen Daren Downs, Chris Kenney and Thomas Voss were sworn in.
Kayleigh Gould, of the North East Wyoming Advocacy Resource Center, provided a quarterly update for the council. Included were the number of individuals the center assisted, some of the services provided and an update on employees.
Ordinance No. 4, prohibiting the use of compression/jake brakes in city limits, passed on third reading.
Owens appointed Voss as council president.
Owens informed the council that he would leave committee assignments alone, placing Kenney on the committee’s that Owens previously occupied.
The council approved a motion to pay reasonable fees associated with attendance of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities conference for council members.
The council approved a motion to send a letter to the Newcastle Recreation Board requesting that it change the dates or times of its meetings so they don’t conflict with council meetings.
The council approved an agreement for the budget billing pilot program.
City-Clerk Treasurer Stacy Haggerty reported that the next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
The council approved Haggerty’s request to contract with BMS Pay for credit card and online payments.
The council approved the request of Greg Stumpff, public works supervisor, to use the $850,000 earmarked for landfills toward the Landfill No. 2 closure.
The council approved a contract with the Weston County Peace Officers Association for the Newcastle Police Department drug dog.
Police Chief Derek Thompson requested a police committee meeting to discuss the need for new hires.