Colfax approves equipment purchases to reduce wastewater discharge violations

Colfax City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 12 to accept staff recommendations to offset potential state monetary fines for wastewater discharge violations by investing in upgraded plant equipment, and separately approved purchase of replacement filter panels for the plant's Veolia disc filter unit.

The action on the settlement agreement and stipulation for entry of an administrative civil liability order directs the city to purchase equipment of equal or greater value to offset fines, and the council separately approved a $33,080 purchase for replacement filter panels when staff said the existing screens—last replaced 13 years ago—are failing.

City Manager Connor introduced the agenda item and invited Matt Anderson, chief plant operator at the wastewater treatment plant, to explain the technical plans. "My name's Matt Anderson. I'm the CPO at the wastewater treatment plant," Anderson told the council, and described a package of instrumentation and controls the plant staff say will reduce the risk of future violations.

Anderson said staff plan to add multiple dissolved-oxygen (DO) meters and a nitrate meter and tie the new instruments into the plant's new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. "We have one DO meter out at the plant. My proposal is to get six," Anderson said, adding that additional DO and nitrate monitoring will allow operators to detect process upsets earlier and reduce discharge violations.

On the filter panels, Anderson said the plant currently uses two disc (membrane) filters that screen to about 10 microns. Manufacturer recommendations call for replacement every five years; the city has not replaced the screens in 13 years and staff reported 84 failed screens at the facility. Anderson said the disc filter system is proprietary to Veolia, so replacement parts must be purchased from the manufacturer. "No one makes aftermarket parts for these. It is just Veolia because it's a patented product," Anderson said.

Former plant operator Tom, speaking during public comment, urged the council to support the purchases and to heed operators' recommendations. "Trust your operator," Tom said, recounting operational problems he encountered in earlier decades and emphasizing the need for preventive investment.

Council members asked technical questions about whether the proposed work was deferred maintenance or a modernization step. Anderson and city staff said the purchases are intended to move the plant to more current technology and monitoring rather than simply address deferred maintenance. Staff also said the new equipment will be monitored 24/7 through SCADA and will notify operators if parameters stray outside setpoints.

Votes and next steps

- Settlement agreement and stipulation for entry of administrative civil liability order (item 8A): motion to accept staff recommendation approved on a roll call vote. Recorded votes: Council member Burrows—Aye; Council member Douglas—Aye; Council member Hillberg—Aye; Mayor Pro Tem McCauley—Aye; Mayor Lohman—Aye. Outcome: approved.

- Purchase of Veolia filter panels (item 8B): council approved sole-source purchase of replacement filter panels, $33,080, on a roll call vote. Recorded votes: Council member Burrows—Aye; Council member Douglas—Aye; Council member Hillberg—Aye; Mayor Pro Tem McCauley—Aye; Mayor Lohman—Aye. Outcome: approved.

Staff said the filter replacement must be performed as a single-unit purchase because piecemeal replacement would overload remaining screens and risk immediate failure. The council did not allocate a new funding source during the meeting; staff noted they have generated year-round cost savings and would use reserves if necessary, saying that reserve use would still be less costly than paying fines.

Why this matters

Council members and operators framed the purchases as investments to prevent further regulatory violations, protect water quality, and avoid recurring fines and reputational harm to the city. Council members also referenced the plant's long history of compliance challenges and the higher long-term cost of deferring necessary upgrades.

Staff will proceed with the purchases and integration into SCADA, and the council's approvals allow procurement to move forward under the sole-source justification for manufacturer-supplied parts.