Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wastewater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves change order, hears updates on wastewater plant, inflow investigations
Summary
The City Council approved a $337,526 change order for Phase 2 of the wastewater treatment plant and accepted the project as substantially complete while hearing staff and consultants outline continuing collection-system inflow issues, a planned fall smoke-testing campaign, and a near-term startup of the digester complex.
The City Council approved Change Order No. 6 for the Wastewater Treatment Facility Phase 2 from Williams Brothers Construction for $337,526 and later adopted a resolution declaring the plant construction project substantially complete, while staff described ongoing collection-system inflow concerns and planned investigations.
City Engineer Derek Thomas said the project team has a punch list of remaining items and that start-up of the digester complex is slated for next week. "They're progressing on that punch list…there's a start up on the Digester complex slated for next week," Thomas said. Council voted to approve the change order and the resolution accepting the improvements.
Why it matters: The approvals advance the plant toward operation while the council and staff described new and continuing operational and collection-system issues that could affect plant performance and local sewer backups.
Staff and consultants told the council the increased flows at a lift station indicate inflow — rapid spikes in flow immediately after rain events — rather than infiltration through the soil. A city staff member explained that an identified problem near the fairgrounds appeared to be a major contributor and was being addressed. Council also approved Pay Request No. 39 (Phase 3) to Boomerang Corp for $0, reflecting no new billings in that pay request cycle.
Consultants and staff described next steps to find and reduce inflow. Derek Thomas summarized the planned investigative approach: "We're going to smoke test the whole town here this fall…we'll walk around the streets and look for smoke coming up where it's not supposed to." He said the smoke-testing work will take a few weeks with teams documenting findings and coordinating rehabilitation or televising to locate problem pipes.
Council members asked about the status of repairs related to earlier sewer backups on Sampson Drive. A staff member said the city has sent insurance claim documents to affected residents and was waiting to receive completed claim forms to submit to the insurer. On contractor work, the council was told that Boomerang still had a few items to finish and that some equipment deliveries were scheduled late in the month; staff estimated completion "early September," contingent on equipment arrival and installation.
Discussion vs. action: The change order and the resolution accepting the phase as substantially complete were formal actions approved by the council. The inflow/infiltration (I&I) investigations, smoke testing, televising and the insurance-claim follow-up were described as staff and consultant next steps (direction/investigation), not council-adopted policy changes.
Other clarifying details discussed included weed spraying and punch-list work at the plant site, planned subcontractor presence to replace equipment, and that some pump station issues were being driven by collection-system inflow rather than plant equipment failure.
Ending: Staff said they will coordinate public communication ahead of smoke testing so residents are not alarmed by visible smoke, and staff will return with findings and recommended repairs after the investigative work is complete.
