The Klondike quarry, converted to a seasonal reservoir earlier this decade at a cost of $4 million, will be used for the first time this year beginning Saturday night.
And despite being declared operational in 2005, glitches in the state-of-the-art, computer-controlled, unmanned facility have rendered the reservoir nearly useless.
In announcing the decision to make Klondike operational, the city's Engineering Department advised residents that the flow from the quarry on Quarry Street could be strong enough — and in an opposing direction to the northern flow from the Babson Reservoir — so that it may turn tap water the color of rust from suspended iron oxide particles.
"Temporary discoloration" is possible, the announcement said. The department advised running the drinking water for a few minutes until the rust is gone.
Chief city engineer Richard Clarke said he was advised last week by the state Department of Environmental Protection that the city needed to run the new plant until at least 24 million gallons are pumped to keep the license valid.
"We'll use it until we get 24 million gallons out," Clarke said. The license also limits daily usage to no more than 1 million gallons, which means Klondike will operate for at least 24 days.
Clarke said the plan was to hold water at Klondike as an emergency supply until the Department of Environmental Protection stepped in. He said heavy rains this summer have left the Babson and Goose Cove reservoirs at about 70 percent capacity. A year ago at this time, the island reservoirs were below 30 percent and in danger of being emptied during a summer-long drought.
The flow from Klondike, a picturesque four-acre pit in the center of the former granite quarrying community, will strengthen flow in the northern villages. Holding 90 million gallons of naturally pristine water, the Klondike is the city's only quarry-reservoir.
The city undertook the Klondike project in 2001 to supplement its water supply, improve pressure in Annisquam, Bay View and Lanesville, and remove more bacteria with additive chlorine from water reaching those users.
The project is traced to a water facilities assessment in the 1990s by the consulting firm Fay Spoffard Thorndike during the administration of former Mayor Bruce Tobey. At the time, the city was enjoying a rare and short-lived period of fiscal solvency.
After he succeeded Tobey, John Bell continued to support the Klondike project, which was pushed through the City Council in 2002 by then-Public Works Director Joseph Parisi and then-environmental engineer Christine Millhouse.
In 2001, the Capital Improvement Advisory Board, assigned by charter to advise the mayor and City Council, found the Klondike to be "necessary," but at an estimated $1 million — a quarter of its final cost.
Starting in the 1930s, the Klondike's pristine water had been drawn and distributed without purification, but the reservoir was decommissioned in the 1980s, when state law began requiring filtration.
Former Chief Financial Officer Thomas Moses told the Times in 2005 that debt service on the $4-million borrowed for the Klondike project would average more than $200,000 for the 20 years of the loans, and thus contribute to the run-up of rates in recent years.
Over the 20 years the city will take to pay off the notes for the $4 million borrowed to construct the Klondike plant, the annual average household cost of the Klondike is about $30, according to figures provided by Moses.
The auditing firm Giusti Hingston and Co. on Aug. 12 produced its analysis of the city's books for fiscal 2007, which ended June 30, 2007. In the report, the water enterprise fund was found to be $1 million in the black while the sewer enterprise fund was $2.5 million in the red.
Mayor Carolyn Kirk said she believed the large surplus and debt might be caused by charging water costs to the sewer system.
Public Works and Utilities Director Michael Hale advised residents to call Public Works at 978-281-9785 if they experience rust-colored water after the Klondike is operational.
Richard Gaines may be reached at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
