By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — Jeff Yeazel wants to flush less.
That’s what the Plymouth Water Department Superin-tendent told the Water Works Board as he requested to perform “unidirectional flushing” in the city over the next three months.
Plymouth Water Department employees flush the city water mains twice a year. The city of Rochester has undertaken the unidirectional flush and currently flushes their mains only once every other year.

“It’s something that we have to deal with in some of the old cast iron mains we have in town,” said Yeazel. “This process scours everything out pretty good.”
Yeazel pointed out other cost saving aspects of the operation. The unidirectional process would use half of the water to perform the same function. As a result of needing less water, the savings in chemicals and electricity would be significant.
The process would be handled by an outside contractor for a cost of around $52,000, but would free up the manpower normally taken up by the bi-yearly flush to perform other tasks for the department. Department personnel would inform residents of when the flush was taking place and perform any clean-up or other duties once the flush was finished.
Yeazel was asked if the process was something that his personnel could be trained to do in the future, and he responded that it was something that the water department could certainly look at in the future.
The Water Board voted to table the issue until the input of Mayor Mark Senter could be obtained. Senter was absent from Monday’s meeting, as he is on a mission trip for the week.
In other business:
• Plymouth’s new fire engine is now in town, undergoing final preparation.
Fire Chief Andy Metsker said the engine should be available for duty by the week of June 16.
• Street Department Superintendent Jim Marquardt reported he and Plymouth City Engineer Rick Gaul had completed their inspection and rating of the city’s streets. The ratings will be used to formulate the five-year plan for street repair.