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Albert Lea seeks $37 million to complete multi‑phase wastewater upgrades tied to phosphorus limits
Summary
City manager said federal and state phosphorus requirements increased the cost of an Albert Lea sewer plant upgrade; the city requested $37 million or a phased $12.5 million option to keep rates from rising by 200%.
Albert Lea officials told the Capital Investment Committee on March 6 that regulatory requirements to treat phosphorus have dramatically increased the cost of their wastewater project and that the city needs state assistance to avoid steep rate increases for residents and employers.
City Manager Ian Riggs said the Shell Rock River and area lakes are impaired primarily because of phosphorus. To treat phosphorus at the wastewater plant requires additional engineering and process changes that staff estimate add $30 million to $40 million to what was expected to be a roughly $40 million project. Riggs said the full remaining ask is $37,000,000 to complete three remaining phases; as an alternative he described a Phase 2 request of $12,500,000 that represents a 50% share of a $25,000,000 phase.
Riggs described the city’s economic context: major agricultural and food-processing sewer users employ roughly 1,600 people in a community of about 18,000, and without support sewer bills could rise by 200% (from about $40 to $120 a month), which he said would violate Clean Water Act median-income limitations and threaten affordability. Committee members requested a clarification about the Phase 2 numbers; Riggs confirmed the phase 2 cost is $25,000,000 with a $12,500,000 state ask for that phase.
