As you may be aware, the Department of Public Works strictly uses Environmental One for grinder pumps that connect to the County owned low pressure systems. DPW was recently notified of an updated control panel that offers several benefits for County operations at a minimal cost increase. DPW will now require this panel be installed for all new installations of grinder pumps that connect to County owned low pressure systems, effective July 1, 2022.
The benefits of this new control panel, the Sentry Protect Plus, allows several additional layers of protection to the pump and to the customers. Some of the benefits included are: run dry protection, over pressure protection, historical operational information and many others. These protection layers will allow the pump to stop itself from burning itself up by limiting the number and length of time the pump will run. The current panel used, the Sentry Basic, does not offer these features, which causes more frequent pump failures and interruption to customers' sewer services. This is a common maintenance issue that requires the County to either repair or purchase a new grinder pump.
The change in control panels presently would result in an increase in cost of less than $80, but offers the County and customer's protection that could end up costing thousands of dollars if the pump burned up and required replacement. The change will also lead to fewer nuisance calls and provide a more reliable and dependable product for the customer. The new control panel will also lead to faster diagnostic times, allowing the repairs to be resolved more quickly and having the customers out of service for shorter periods of time.
DPW has added this to the design manual updates and is updating the associated details to reflect the change in control panels. This memo serves as a notice to expedite the change in requirements for new installations. DPW will also be advising contractors during this change in requirements. In addition, DPW will communicate this change to the local vendors. All existing and approved Public Works agreements, prior to the above date, will be allowed to use the Sentry Basic control panel.