MUSCATINE, Iowa — Muscatine Power and Water will improve the efficiency of its wells this year, thanks in part to President Barack Obama’s stimulus package.

At the same time, Gov. Chet Culver is honoring the utility for its environmental excellence.

The Board of Water, Electric and Communications Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday evening to seek bids to replace eight older well motor controls with more efficient variable frequency drives.

The drives were slated to be replaced over the next three years. However, the $489,060 project qualifies as a “green” water project and is eligible for a low interest loan from the State Revolving Fund. In addition, MPW will not have to repay 20 percent of the loan thanks to funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

With the current drives, the well motors are either running or off and valves are used to control how quickly the water flows out of the ground. The variable drives can change the speed of the motor, which offers more control over the flow rate and better energy efficiency.

MPW has already put variable frequency drives on two of its 10 wells.

“This significantly reduces the energy used,” said MPW general manager Sal LoBianco. “The payback has been in the neighborhood of two years by putting on the variable speed drives.”

LoBianco told the trustees the variable drives have also reduced maintenance costs for the well motors.

Special recognition

At Tuesday’s meeting, LoBianco also announced MPW won a Special Recognition in Waste Management award for selling and giving away the byproducts of burning coal in its power plants instead of landfilling them. Doing so saves approximately 60,000 cubic yards of landfill space each year.

MPW was one of 14 organizations the governor will honor later this summer for leadership and innovation in the protection of Iowa’s natural resources.

In other action

— The trustees voted to purchase a $150,000 crusher motor for Unit 8 at the power company. The coal burning unit has two motors which crush the coal before it is burned. Both motors are beyond their life expectancy and have required significant maintenance in recent years.

— The trustees elected D. Scott Ingstad, president and CEO of First National Bank of Muscatine, as the new chairman of the board. Gary Carlson, vice president of member and community relations at HNI, is the new vice chairman. Donald Kerker, MPW director of finance and administrative services, was reappointed as the board secretary.