Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wastewater Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Graham council selects engineer for multi-year wastewater overhaul after warning of single-point failure
Summary
The City of Graham approved hiring Freese and Nichols to lead a predesign and master plan to rehabilitate its aging wastewater treatment plant, citing single-point vulnerabilities and an estimated multi‑million dollar eventual project cost.
City Manager Eric said the City Council on Jan. 16 authorized staff to begin contract negotiations with Freese and Nichols to produce an updated wastewater master plan and predesign for a rehabilitation of Graham’s wastewater treatment plant.
City Manager Eric said the plant, built in 1980 with later piecemeal upgrades, depends on a single oxidation ditch that he described as a “single point of failure.” “If this oxidation ditch fails … we can't process sewage in the city, period,” Eric said. He urged the council to move deliberately to avoid further failures while the city designs a longer-term fix.
The city manager outlined three phased project objectives for the predesign work: repair and replace failing equipment, add resilience to plant operations and, if feasible, build storage capacity to support reclaimed‑water reuse. The base repair scope would include repairs to drying beds, replacement of paddle wheels in the oxidation ditch, replacement of clarifier gearboxes, resizing the chlorine contact chamber, mechanical/electrical/plumbing repairs, installation of SCADA computer monitoring and a new operations building. An additive alternative includes a second oxidation ditch to remove the single‑point risk; a larger alternative would add up to 1 million gallons of reclaimed‑water storage and associated pumping.
The city manager said preliminary, high-level comparisons with similar projects point to potential total project costs in the low tens of millions of dollars, but added that the firm selection and predesign work are intended to produce firm estimates. “We're seeing numbers in the $12 million to $15 million range as comparable projects, but we will not know final cost until engineering completes design and pricing,” he said.
The council approved the selection after a staff convened selection committee scored proposals from four firms; Freese and Nichols received the highest score. Councilmember Jack moved to select Freese and Nichols and Councilmember Brent seconded. The motion passed.
Pending the predesign, the city manager said staff will evaluate funding options, including debt issuance, and expects the full program from predesign through construction and certification could span roughly three to four years from the start of engineering. City staff emphasized the near‑term operational risk: if critical equipment fails while the city delays, residents could face service disruptions.
The council’s action authorizes negotiation of a professional services agreement; final contract terms and construction funding would return to council for approval.
The city manager and public works staff said they will provide regular updates as the predesign work defines scope, schedule and cost.
