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Appearing on CITY MATTERS on KWON on Monday, Bartlesville Assistant City Manager Tracy Roles, City Water Utlities Director Terry Lauritsen and City Clerk Jason Muninger brought us up to date on issues facing the cit of Bartlesville.

 

The October 10th Special City Election in Bartlesville regarding the extention of the G.O. Bond Issue is coming soon. Assistant City Manager Tracy Roles explains in general what the $17.6 million G.O. Bond will cover if passed: streets, parks, public safety and public facilities. Roles said that voting "yes" will not raise your taxes (see https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/32853-2/ ).

 

City Clerk Jason Muninger said the monthly ctiy sales tax collection was down 2.9% from last year's reacord high, but still looks great as it represents a 15% increase from 2 years ago.

 

City Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen told viewers and listeners that the city's water supply is at 67%. This would normally trigger some water usage restrictions under the city water shortage ordinance, but the city council voted to suspend any restrictions until they hear some proposals from the city water consevation committee.

 

Lauritsen said the water department is moving forward. The City of Bartlesville will conduct a temporary switch from its current water disinfection system to free chlorine later this month.

 

Known as a Temporary Free Chlorine Conversion, the six-week process, which will begin Sept. 25, will result in the entire system being flushed and may cause some taste and odor issues for local water customers, Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen said today.

 

“Temporary Free Chlorine Conversion is a common industry standard and is routinely scheduled by some water providers using chloramine disinfection in an effort to ensure water quality throughout the distribution system,” Lauritsen said. “It involves switching from chloramines, which is what we normally use for disinfection, to free chlorine, which is a stronger and faster-acting disinfectant.”

 

Lauritsen said the City’s constant testing of water quality in the distribution system recently produced indicators in the southern portion of the system that the conversion may be warranted.

 

“We closely monitor the distribution system for biological activity and recently discovered that the southern portion of the distribution system, starting at Rice Creek Road and U.S. Highway 75 going south, are indicating the beginning stages of increased biological activity,” he said.

 

“While this activity is not pathogenic and does not create a health concern, we believe that a temporary full conversion is the best way to proceed.”

 

Lauritsen also said that the water reuse system is not online yet. In fact, it won't likely be built until 2025 and won't be able to use until 2027.