Council approves moving wastewater treatment facility plan into design phase; estimated $146 million scope presented

City staff and consultant Strand Associates presented a facilities plan for the Cedar Falls Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Committee of the Whole voted to proceed toward design-phase work on the recommended project scope.

Chase (city staff) introduced Randy from Strand Associates, who said the existing trickling-filter plant is nearing capacity, contains equipment “well past 20 years old” and will not meet future nutrient limits required by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) without significant upgrades. Strand presented alternatives and recommended a new process layout that repurposes some existing structures, removes older odorous processes and adds biosolids drying and a new administration building.

“The facility really is operating very close to its full capacity,” Randy said, noting infiltration during wet weather, aging equipment and projected population and industrial growth as drivers for the project. He told the committee that portions of the plant date to the 1930s and that some equipment is 40–60 years old.

Strand described a recommended capital-improvement scope with a current cost opinion of about $146,000,000 (2025 dollars). The firm said it had removed roughly $27,000,000 of optional or future items from the initial full-scope estimate to arrive at the recommended budget. Consultants cited factors affecting price uncertainty: limited site space, poor soils requiring deep foundations, busy contractor markets, tariffs and federal Buy America/Build America requirements; Strand noted some requirements were not yet confirmed for this project and that the estimate does include contingencies for uncertainty.

Strand and staff discussed construction-delivery options, including construction manager-at-risk (CMAR). Strand advised the committee that CMAR is a delivery method in which a contractor joins the team in early design (roughly at 30% design), helps refine budgets and can reduce bid-day cost uncertainty; Strand did not recommend an immediate decision but suggested evaluating CMAR during design. City staff said the design phase for a project of this magnitude is expected to take about two years, with bidding targeted for late 2027 and construction beginning in early 2028 on a three-year schedule.

Council members asked about alternatives such as building a new plant at a greenfield site or regionalizing with Waterloo. Staff said earlier studies found a new regional plant or full relocation would be significantly more expensive — staff estimated those alternatives were at least 50% higher in cost — and noted constraints identifying a suitable new site and the expense of new conveyance infrastructure.

After discussion, a council member moved to proceed with the schedule and to move toward a design contract while returning to the council with CMAR recommendations as appropriate; the motion was seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote (ayes recorded; no roll-call tally in the transcript). Strand and city staff will continue design and planning work and return with further detail, including a draft design contract and additional cost refinement.