City Council tours new sewer plant

Members of the Washington City Council toured the new wastewater treatment facility Friday afternoon. Construction on the sewer plant began last spring and continued uninterrupted over the winter. Washington engineering technician Keith Henkel estimated the project was six to eight months ahead of schedule. City Administrator Brent Hinson said he expects the plant to be ready to treat waste in August.

?They got a lot done this winter that they weren?t counting on being able to do,? Hinkel said. ?There was only a two and a half- to three-week period when we couldn?t pour concrete this winter. Otherwise, they were pouring all winter. They were really fortunate.?

Hinson announced last week that the plant would cost less than previously thought because the city would get more money from the I-JOBS program. The city initially received $970,000 to assist with the sewer plant project. The sewer plant is expected to cost about $15 million. Hinson said he learned recently that I-JOBS would give the city another $1.03 million, bringing the total I-JOBS contribution to $2 million.

Hinson said some of the other I-JOBS grant recipients did not follow through on their projects or had to give the money back to the state for one reason or another. The state collected that money and distributed it among the communities that needed it the most.

The extra $1 million from I-JOBS wouldn?t allow the city to slash its sewer rates right away, Hinson said. He said the extra money wouldn?t affect how the city charges for sewer in the short-term but that it would reduce rates in the future.

Gridor Construction of Buffalo, Minn., is building the plant and Hinson said he is very pleased with the company?s work.

?The vast majority of the concrete is poured,? Hinson said. ?All the major structures are there. They got the pre-cast walls on all the buildings and they?ve poured all the floors.?

Hinson said that much electrical work remains but that he is optimistic the sewer plant will be open by the end of the summer.

?Once we switch over to the new plant, there will be a period of time when we?ll run both plants,? Hinson said. ?After that, the old plant will be demolished.?

Hinson said the demolition of the current plant is included in the contract with Gridor. He said the only pieces of the current plant that will remain after demolition are the trickling filter, which will be used to store sludge, and the lagoon south of the plant, which will be an extra storage area.

The city also ordered the construction of a gravity sewer which will connect the new sewer plant to the southern and western sections of town. Once completed, the gravity sewer will be 14,000-feet long, or just over 2.5 miles long. DeLong Construction of Washington is building it for $2.8 million. Hinson said he is also impressed with the progress on the gravity sewer. He said it was a couple of months ahead of schedule as well.

Those in attendance from the council were Mayor Sandra Johnson and councilors Bob Shepherd, Bob Shellmyer and Fred Stark, plus employees Hinson, City Attorney Craig Arbuckle and wastewater plant director Fred Doggett. Hinkel took them to the top of the aeration tanks. The aeration tanks hold the sewage while air is pushed up through the sewage from the bottom. Hinkel explained that this keeps the bacteria active which break down the waste.

After the waste is aerated it is sent to another storage tank where it is treated with ultraviolet radiation. Once that is done, the waste can be discharged back into the environment. Washington discharges its treated waste into the west fork of the Crooked Creek.

The handrails on the top of the aeration tanks are all done. Hinkel said Gridor was originally planning to start on those next month but got an early start thanks to the warm weather.

The Department of Natural Resources required the city to build a new plant in order to meet the water quality standards of the Clean Water Act.