Ed. Note: This is the latest in a continuing series of articles concerning city expenditures under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). It is done in the interest of information and transparency.
By Dan Atkinson
Voice Writer
No matter the size of a community, having new vehicles to effectively clean and repair sewer and storm drain lines is highly valuable. For a long time, the vacuum truck used to do this work in West Haven was very outdated, operated slowly, and contracted out at great expense to the city government. Thanks to funding provided by the West Haven ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Committee, the city was able to provide residents with a truck to do these tasks as well as vacuum manholes and sewers much more quickly and efficiently.
ARPA Committee Chairman Ken Carney said the vehicle specifications were developed by a committee made up of end users and ARPA committee members. That information was then used to create an RFP for the new vacuum (VAC) truck. Carney said Sanitary Equipment Company of West Haven won the bid as the lowest responsible bidder. Sanitary Equipment has provided municipalities and private businesses in Connecticut and the tri-state area with quality solid waste equipment for nearly four decades.
The ARPA Committee allocated $530,000 dollars to purchase a new VAC truck for the city. Using these funds, Sanitary Equipment was able to purchase a Kenworth VAC truck for West Haven. The company was able to value engineer the price of the new truck, which resulted in it coming slightly under budget. It ultimately cost $502,000. Carney said it was his understanding that the use of the truck would save money for the West Haven government in the long term.
“We lucked out because the people who maintain the truck have a facility in the city, which makes it much easier to do maintenance work on it,” Carney said.
The Kenworth VAC truck has many impressive features which will make it much easier for the city to clean and repair sewers and storm drains. The truck has a 1300-gallon tank which can run at 80 gallons per minute and 2500 psi, runs at 525 horsepower, and contains a PD blower. It also contains hydro excavation equipment which combines high-pressure water in an air vacuum. The equipment allows the truck to remove soil, which is eventually transferred to a debris tank.
The Kenworth truck has several essential safety features. It contains a camera and a safety shutoff for the vacuum breaker which allows it to be shut off in the hose itself, the body of the ruck, and with an emergency shutoff button near the door. The truck’s heigh was designed to be able to go under railroad passes. Finally, the truck’s omnibus precision power control system provides complete control of machine functions from one centralized location. The system has real-time diagnostics that simplify jobs and required maintenance.
Michael O’Brien serves as the Lead Collections Operator for the West Haven WPCC (Water Pollution Control Commission). He said the Kenworth VAC truck has allowed the city to do a much better job of cleaning and repairing sewers and storm drains and handling any stormwater damage if necessary.
“The truck that was used before this was very underpowered and moved like a snail. It’s night and day with how quickly the truck works and moves,” O’Brien said. “When you combine the truck and the city’s second one, we can do double the amount of work each day and finish a project in a day or two. The city government also doesn’t have to interact with subtractors now.”
O’Brien said a significant number of residents have told him and other city officials that they are appreciative of the city having a new truck that works quickly.
Ultimately, the operating costs of the Kenworth VAC truck both now and likely long term and the money saved by not having to use a third party or rent equipment to work on sewers and storm drains should benefit the West Haven government and city residents for a long time. The advantages of using ARPA Committee funds to purchase the truck, and the money saved by doing so, is a great example of the success the Committee hopes to have with all the projects it is funding.
“It is the goal of the AARPA Committee to reduce operating costs in all departments through the use of AARPA funds whenever possible,” Carney said.