Plum to replace middle school water pump as building remains on 'fire watch'

The Plum School District is working to replace a water pump that controls emergency sprinklers in its middle school after its pressure proved to be too low during routine testing.

District Superintendent Rick Walsh said the pump, which had passed last year’s inspection, was old and had failed to fall within 5% of the acceptable water pressure.

As a result, the middle school building is on “fire watch,” Walsh said.

That means custodians and district officials will be actively checking equipment and searching for potential fire hazards while they wait for the new pump to arrive, according to Plum Chief Financial Officer Ryan Manzer.

He said the district has been working closely with borough fire officials throughout the process.

The cost of the new pump, estimated at $82,000, will be covered by a grant the district received for ongoing renovations at the middle school. Since bids for those projects came in lower than expected, Manzer said, Plum plans to use the grant balance to foot the bill.

The pump is likely to be replaced sometime in November, he said.

Plum also recently performed facilities assessments on each of its buildings to analyze the status of equipment and infrastructure throughout the district, Manzer said.

It’s part of an effort to build a proactive five- to 10-year plan for potential replacements or improvements.

“The goal is to identify critical updates in advance,” Walsh said.

The last building left to study is Plum High School, he said.

Manzer said the conclusions and recommendations from those assessments will likely be presented early next year.