Dave’s World
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
The long anticipated replacement for the heating and cooling system at the Water Valley courthouse may no longer be on the backburner following the discovery of a large water leak last week.
The courthouse is heated and cooled using a geothermal system as water is pumped through a closed -loop underground water line system and circulated through the heating and cooling units to cool them. Admittedly I had to do a little googling, but the idea is that the consistently interior earth temperature cools the warm water after it is circulated through the heating and cooling units.
The problem is an estimated 10,000 gallons of water is leaking each day from somewhere in the closed-loop system. District Three Supervisor Kenny Harmon discovered the leak last week, apparently the water meter was spinning pretty fast.
Here’s the real dilemma: it could take thousands and thousands of dollars to find and repair the leak for a system that is already nearing the end its life expectancy. So far, the general location of the water link cannot be pinpointed as the leaking water has not made it to the surface. The heating and cooling system was installed over 21 years ago when the courthouse was renovated and one expert advised supervisors Monday that they could fix this leak only to encounter more problems in the not-so-distant future. This news should come as no surprise as costly recurring breakdowns have been a recurring problem for several years.
The other option is to replace the entire HVAC system at a cost expected to be hundreds of thousands of dollars. It would be cheaper and easier to install a traditional HVAC system with outside units, but that also gets a little murky. The reason the geothermal system was added during the 2003 renovation project was the minimize modifications to the historic building that is a designated Mississippi Landmark through the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The county received a half-million dollars in grant for the renovations of the Coffeeville and Water Valley courthouses that included some funding for the geothermal system.
There was some head-scratching during Monday’s meeting, but the first plan of action is to stop the bleeding, or I should say the gushing water.
The main water line to the courthouse was turned off last weekend, and the heating units were also off to keep from over-heating. The courthouse was 61 degrees Monday, and I noticed a few folks kept their jackets on.
A technician was scheduled to come check it out Tuesday and supervisors were hopeful that they would get an idea of potential options.
The Coffeeville courthouse is also heated and cooled using a geothermal system that also near the replacement time but as supervisor Eddie Harris noted in Monday’s meeting, that is a problem for another day.
I just wonder if the leak may be a casualty of the single-digit temps during the Ice Storm of 2024. It may be the storm that keeps on causing problems!
