By By Janet Little Cooper
During Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis the Atmore Utilities Board never ran out of water, but it came a little too close for comfort prompting the board to write a grant for generators.
Now just 60 days away from the start of yet another hurricane season, five generators have been awarded to the city by FEMA.
"Kenny Smith and I started working on a grant after Ivan," Tom Wolfe, Atmore Utilities Board Superintendent said. "We finally got it and now we are ready for the worst. We never lost water after Ivan, but it got close. It made me real nervous."
According to Wolfe, the last two generators were unloaded Friday and should be fully operational by the end of April.
The generators are being installed at three water plants and two waste water sites that include the following locations: 120 Carpet Drive, 502 North Main Street, 1221 South Presley Street, 201 West Pine Street and 199 Lindberg Avenue.
The two generators being used for wastewater will be at the lift station to prevent wastewater from overflowing due to the lack of power.
The generators, two 150kw, one 125kw and two 60kw, are valued for more than $200,000. The Utilities Board is responsible for paying less than $50,000 for them according to Wolfe.
Mayor Howard Shell and Wolfe are both pleased with the needed addition of the generators.
"They will be used for our well pumps and pump systems," Shell said. "With the generators we will be able to stay on line in case of a severe power outage such as experienced during Ivan and Dennis."