Franklin moving forward with water project

FRANKLIN — Borough council last week approved the expenditure of $109,000 toward a multi-faceted Department of Public Works project, one that will allow the borough to examine and update its water infrastructure system. The $109,000 is money that is already available to the borough, which simply had to officially “dispense” this money toward the project, borough officials said. “That’s not new money,” stated borough administrator Richard R. Wolak. “That’s money we have put aside over the years for exactly this purpose.” Part of the project will include the retrofitting and phase-out of some piping that “has become corroded and is no longer reliable,” Wolak said. Also in store is the replacement of one tank rectifier, which acts as an anti-rusting agent inside the tank. An inspection of tank interiors is also on tap, since that is needed every five years or so. It was once done by divers; however, it is now done by internal cameras. Finally, about $60,000 will be used for the rehab of the municipal wells, insuring that well pumps are operating at their full capacity and to check for silt and other possible build-ups in the borough’s aquifer system. And in keeping with state Department of Environmental Protection rules, the dam at the Franklin Pond must also be inspected, borough officials said. The work is expected to take about a year. This project does not include the over-infiltration of rain and storm water run-off that must be corrected by the borough, Wolak explained. “That’s just normal, major repairs we have to make to the infrastructure,” the administrator said. “The infiltration and inflow is still a separate issue we need to address in the future.”