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Wastewater treatment plant construction starts this spring |
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Thursday, 25 September 2008 |
• JEO Engineering presents city’s finalized wastewater treatment plans
By DEBORAH McCASLIN
Chief Publisher
Broken Bow’s Wastewater Treatment system is maxed out. There are days when the community is in compliance and there are days when it is not.
“The existing lagoons do not consistently meet discharge limits,” said Joe Baxter, an engineer with Olsson Associates, Broken Bow’s engineering firm.
“Some portions of the existing treatment facility are at their design limit.”
In simpler terms, Broken Bow produces more waste water than the current wastewater facility can handle.
The original facility was built in the 1970s and the city was told last year by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality they need to do something.
A public hearing was conducted during Tuesday’s Broken Bow City Council meeting to review the plans. There will be an impact. For instance, each of the residential accounts can expect to pay $12.50-$14.25 per month based on 5,000 gallons of use. The average rate now sits at $11.40 per month. Rates were increased last spring.
Key elements of the project include replacing the Thelma Street and 5th Street lift stations, replacing the Aerated Lagoon System with a Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) Process, and adding a UV disinfection process. Two of the existing cells will be used for sludge storage, with the two remaining cells used for emergency storage. Outflow will be into an existing channel at the lagoon site.
Broken Bow qualifies for Nebraska’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund dollars.
These moneys will be available with a 3 percent interest rate and a 1 percent annual administration fee.
The interest rate is based on the Media Household Income of the community. According to the 2000 Census, Broken Bow’s MHI is $29,355, 80 percent under the state average of $39,250. A state matching grant program (MHI based) is available for communities with populations below 5,000.
The loan amount would be used for only actual costs.
Council President Mike Evans asked if there were other alternatives.
City Utilities Manger Mike Lucas reassured the council that the Board of Public Works had visited a number of sites and that the one proposed “was more adaptable to change.”
Councilman Barry Fox asked if the debt could be serviced (paid for) with an increase in service rates.
The response was yes, they could be.
“We are in and out of compliance (depending on the day and the flow) and there is not a lot we can do about it,” Lucas said.
Fox said he wanted the council to look at the sales tax dollars and see if any of those funds could be used to help service the loan.
Lucas pointed out that the city will receive $100,000 of loan forgiveness through the Clean Water program.
Construction is expected to start in the spring.
A finalization of rates will be presented at the next council meeting.
“I would like for the public to have a chance to review the numbers,” emphasized Fox.
Other action items on Tuesday’s agenda included:
• Approval of proposal to begin bid letting on Phase I of the Railroad Crossing Quiet Zone project, with reservations. The council wants to be sure Phase II will happen before any funds are spent on Phase I.
• Passage of Ordinance No. 1062 creating a pedestrian crossing on Memorial Drive adjacent to the Hospital South Parking Lot.
• Acceptance of the Thelma Street Project, including a change order and a payment of $70,291 to Myers Construction.
• Awarding the bid for Irrigation and Seeding of Melham Park to Precision Sprinklers of North Platte and the withdrawal of the bid to Antelope Sprinkler Systems. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 October 2008 )
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