Last modified: Sunday, September 6, 2009 1:40 AM PDT JESSICA KELLER | ARGUS OBSERVER Ontario Assistant Public Works Director Bob Walker indicates which pumps are running and which are not on the Ontario Water Treatment Plant’s main computer, which shows all of the treatment plant’s operations, Friday. Keeping the water flowing By JESSICA KELLER ARGUS OBSERVER ONTARIO—While Ontario water treatment operator Andy King may have been impressed — and possibly a tad bit envious of the new, fancier and more expensive Pendleton water treatment plant he recently toured, he said Ontario’s more modest plant is well equipped to handle the city’s needs. In fact, King said, on the busiest days of the summer, for about a week and a half, when the water treatment plant was producing the most water because of high demand, it became a bit of a problem. “We can make water faster than we can pump it,” King said, adding two pumps that distribute the water into the city’s system are not getting the water out like they should be. “That’s a good problem to have,” Ontario Assistant Public Works Director Bob Walker said, adding he can speak with the water treatment plant supervisor about refurbishing the two old pumps. The water treatment plant, however, is doing it’s job of producing water to meet demand. Walker said he and Ontario Public Works Director Chuck Mickelson have been pleased with most of the city's infrastructure since they started in Ontario, adding, in terms of meeting the city’s needs, at least the city's water and sewer systems are more than capable. “I was pleasantly surprised at how well off Ontario is,” Walker said. “The only problem I see in Ontario is how we can fund our streets.” The city's water treatment plant can handle more than 12 million gallons per day, and, while the exact figures for this year are not in yet, Walker said they’ve been tracking pretty close to previous years, which haven’t averaged more than 10 million gallons per day at the city's busiest time of year — summers. And with the population stagnant, the water treatment plant won’t have to be expanded any time soon. “We’ve got the facility to more than take care of what we have,” Walker said.  That means the only upcoming projects are drilling two new wells and possible rehabilitation of two old wells. After that, the public works department is going to start on installing self-cleaning intake screens at the source of where it draws in the most of its river water. Walker said, currently, there is nothing to keep algae from growing on the valves, which slows the intake of water and requires divers to clean off the intake system when the algae gets thick. The self-cleaning screens will hopefully eliminate most of the problem, he said. Other than that, however, it’s business as usual at the city’s water treatment plant, and Walker said that’s likely how it will remain for some time. “For the next two years there’s nothing big, nor do we feel like we have anything big (that needs to be done),” Walker said.  Check out more local news at www.argusobserver.com