LIMA — After a lightning strike left Lima’s wastewater treatment plant without power and subject to massive flooding in July, work has continued on both cleanup and getting the plant fully operational, as Lima Utilities Director Michael Caprella related to Lima City Council during its regular meeting Monday.
Lightning struck the main switch gear, rendering it inoperable and leaving the low-lying facility on Fort Amanda Road subject to flooding as both water from a recent major rain event and wastewater entered the plant with no power to the pumps to remove it. The subsequent flooding left the entire lower floor of the administration building completely submerged, along with the boiler, heating and air conditioning equipment, the main switch gear and even a full-size truck.
“Since that day, we’ve been doing nothing but cleaning, itemizing the damage and negotiating with the insurance companies,” Caprella said. “Power is restored to the plant right now, but it’s temporary power. Even though we’re back up fully operating, we’re still a bit in the limping along mode until we can get the main switch gear ordered.”
The switch to backup generators has been repaired, Caprella said, meaning that the plant will be able to continue to run in the event of a power outage.
The department had been in negotiations with the insurance company on replacing the main switch gear, which Caprella said will not be placed in the basement once installed. However, placing it on the upper level will come with additional expense, Caprella said.
“We’re going to pay the difference in cost, which will probably run about $40,000 versus what they would have paid us to put in in the basement,” he said.
Caprella said that HVAC equipment has been ordered, but that equipment will not be able to be used until the main switch gear is delivered and installed, a process that could take longer than hoped given the strain on resources after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
“The biggest problem is that the switch gear could be anywhere from 12 weeks to as long as six months out from getting that in,” he said. “Until we get that in, there is no heating or air conditioning in the plant, especially the administrative area, which houses all the computers, the operators, the lab, the clerical employees and supervisors. It’s going to get cold, I’m afraid, before we get the rest of the gear.”
On a positive note, Caprella said, cost estimates for restoring the plant have been downgraded from an initial estimate of $3 million to closer to $2 million, with insurance covering the bulk of those costs.
