A new method of flushing Kewanee’s water pipes should improve the quality of residents’ water, the City Council found Monday.
The council passed an ordinance hiring the engineering firm of Crawford, Murphy and Tilly to “implement a comprehensive unidirectional flushing program to systematically flush its water distribution system in accordance with best practices and industry standards.”
The engineering firm will develop the flushing program “at a cost not to to exceed $40,000,” the ordinance says.
City Manager Gary Bradley told the council that the city has been flushing the water system from both water towers, which just moved sediment around in the system without removing it.
“If you’re not flushing your system the right way, you’re just stirring it up,” Bradley said. He said it “takes an engineer” to determine how to open valves to push sediment out of the system.
The engineering firm will establish a proper flushing procedure and city employees will carry it out, Bradley said.
“We’re just trying to address something that we know the people would like to have addressed,” he said.
Also Monday, the council approved the purchase of new body cameras and equipment for police officers. Police Chief Stephen Kijanowski and Deputy Chief Michael Minx told the council that the new system will keep the department current with recent developments in body cameras.
Kijanowski said Kewanee’s officers have been equipped with full-body cameras since 2016, but those cameras have become obsolete.
In fact, Minx told the council, the company that made the cameras will no longer service their equipment after next year.
“We’re proposing a total upgrade of our system,” Kijanowski said — which will cost around $183,000. That cost can be paid over five years, he added.
Kijanowski also said the department will pursue state and federal funding for at least part of the cost of the new system.
“It’s pricy, but I think it’s needed,” Kijanowski said.
He said the body camera videos now are stored on a server computer which once went down and had to be replaced.
“We can’t afford the cost of another crash,” the chief said.
The new system will use cloud storage for the police videos rather than storing them on an in-house computer.
Mayor Gary Moore agreed that the body camera upgrades are needed, and said it’s “not safe” to keep the existing system.
Kijanowski said the body cameras have helped law enforcement do its job in Kewanee. He also said the number of citizen complaints about police officers’ actions has declined “dramatically” since the camera footage was available.
