Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wastewater Facility Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wastewater utility begins 20‑year facility plan; SCADA and aging electrical systems flagged for review
Summary
The wastewater utility is conducting a 20‑year facility planning study that will prioritize aging infrastructure needs, including nearly 50‑year‑old electrical gear, solids thickening equipment and RAS piping; staff also proposed a SCADA modernization to replace aging control systems and move off paper maintenance tracking.
Wastewater Utility Director Tim Veil told the council the utility has launched a 20‑year facility planning effort to inventory aging assets, anticipate regulatory changes and prioritize capital projects.
Veil said the plant’s electrical infrastructure — including a motor control center and original equipment approaching 47 years — and solids thickening equipment (about 40 years old) are near the end of their useful service lives. The facility‑planning report is expected in draft form by October and will be submitted to the Department of Natural Resources for formal review.
"We'll be evaluating all aging infrastructure, buried valves, gates, all those things that are pushing 50 years old," Veil said, calling the work a holistic effort to prevent piecemeal projects that don’t fit a broader capital strategy.
Veil also outlined a potential standalone or companion project to update the plant’s SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system. He said the current SCADA software and the technician who has maintained it for years are both nearing retirement, and that the utility is evaluating hardware, licensing, alarm systems and integration of maintenance tracking software to move away from paper logs.
Why it matters: replacing or rehabilitating critical wastewater plant systems is expensive and technically complex; an integrated facility plan will help the city sequence projects and align engineering, permitting and funding.
Budget context: Veil said the utility expects to budget for scoping and design of high‑priority items next year and will present prioritized work to council following the facility‑planning draft and DNR review.
Ending: Veil asked council to consider procurement and contracting approaches for large technical projects and suggested using a single engineering firm for both design and construction management where that would provide continuity and efficiency.
