Wheeling council approves contracts to clean and repair wastewater digesters; costs tied to proposed bonds

Wheeling City Council on Aug. 19 approved multiple contracts to clean, inspect and repair anaerobic digesters at the city wastewater treatment plant, actions city officials said are part of a bond-funded effort to address odors and capacity issues tied to aging equipment.

City Manager Herron said three ordinances before council are linked to the digester work and that the measures are part of a broader package discussed at a prior meeting. "So, there's actually, 3 ordinances that addressed, the issue you're referring to. This is being 1 of them. The other 2 are the actual clean of the digesters and then repairs to the digesters," Herron said. "The cost of this is included in the, proposed bond issue that that we discussed at the last city council meeting. This, would be covered under a bond anticipation note, but that note would be taken out by, by those bonds. So it's it's actually it's not in addition to. It's also it's inclusive of the projects that were presented for the for the rate increase that we discussed last week."

Why it matters: Council members and staff said the digesters are full and overdue for cleaning, creating odors that residents have complained about and fueling recent conversations about proposed water and sewer rate increases. "This is a complete clean of the of the digesters and then a complete repair of everything that's in those digesters," Herron said. "The cleaning the digesters occurs usually every 10 to 15 years. It's probably been, at least 15 years since they were cleaned out."

What the council approved: The council adopted ordinances authorizing the city manager to sign contracts and expend funds for the following, with the transcript recording each motion as approved: - $382,640 with Fredantis Engineering of Wheeling for wastewater treatment, sludge and dewatering services and centrifuge design (charged to water pollution control and sewer bonds). - $332,250 with Mobile Solid Solutions of Somerset, Pennsylvania for anaerobic digester cleaning, inspection, repair and valve replacement (charged to sewer bonds). - $1,330,630 with Graycon Construction Inc. of Steubenville, Ohio for anaerobic digester cleaning, inspection, repair and valve replacement (charged to sewer bonds). - $27,000 with Centrus of Kenosha, Wisconsin for rental services for a centrifuge (to be charged to water pollution control), noted in the meeting as part of the digester work.

Discussion and context: Council discussion included a question from a council member asking Herron to explain how the ordinances fit into efforts to reduce smells and the rate changes residents had been hearing about. Herron told the council the digesters have filled and that cleaning and repair work is required to improve operations and help control odor. He and other council members emphasized that some odor is inherent to wastewater treatment but said the full digesters are producing an unusually strong problem. "We do have ways to treat that that have been effective, in the past, but the problem that we currently have is the fact those digesters are full, and that is creating the, odor that's, emulating from the wastewater treatment plant that is almost impossible to control," Herron said.

Funding and next steps: Herron said the cleanup and repairs are included in the proposed bond issue discussed at the previous meeting; the city would use a bond anticipation note to fund immediate work that will be covered by those bonds. Council members framed the spending as necessary to meet operational and environmental obligations: "If we want to have clean water and water that doesn't violate EPA standards, this is what we have to do," one council member said.

Decisions and implementation: The ordinances were moved, seconded and recorded as approved; the motions were announced as approved for each contract. The transcript does not record roll-call tallies by name for these approvals. No formal amendments or conditions were recorded in the meeting minutes for these items.

Local reaction and implications: Councilors acknowledged some residents are unhappy about proposed rate increases discussed previously, but they said the investments are required to maintain treatment standards and reduce recurring rental-equipment costs. The work timeline, permit or external approvals beyond the city’s contract awards were not specified during the meeting.