Parish amends 2026 budget to reflect $14 million Hornville wastewater upgrade; wastewater chief outlines multiple plant projects

The Saint Charles Parish Council on Nov. 3 amended the 2026 consolidated budget to reflect a $14,000,000 loan for the Hornville wastewater treatment plant expansion and a $4,000,000 transfer from the general fund to cover part of the project.

David DeGeneres, speaking for the Department of Wastewater, said the department's primary objective is public health and system reliability. "Our primary goal is really to, prevent any health hazards. So if we could, keep it off the ground and in the pipe, that's our primary goal," he said.

DeGeneres provided project and asset details: the parish maintains roughly 211 miles of gravity sewer lines, 119 miles of force mains, more than 4,300 manholes, 208 lift stations and three treatment plants. He described work under way at the Deshraham plant — "about 50% through" a reconstruction partly funded by FEMA — and said the Hornville plant is being redesigned in a roughly $14 million project to convert the facility from an activated sludge process to a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system to increase capacity from about 3.2 million gallons per day to 3.3 million in the near term, with room for a later phase to reach about 4 million.

DeGeneres said the MBR option was chosen over a $26 million pond/oxidation system as a more cost-effective near-term solution and that the Hornville upgrade will avoid adding a new staffed station. He also listed near-term construction and design projects: Norco lift station rehab, the Candler Lift Station (out to bid), Saint Rose force main work, Turtle Pond force main and lift station work to relieve collection-system constraints, and replacement designs for older stations at Lakewood School and Lagato.

Council members asked technical and schedule questions. Councilwoman Wilson pressed on the Candler Lift Station timeline; DeGeneres said a pre-bid meeting was scheduled for the next day and construction is expected to start early next year with roughly 100–180 days of work depending on the contractor. Councilman Billier asked whether sewer asset maps are on the parish GIS; DeGeneres said water and sewer are mapped and accessible to council members with drainage/GIS access.

The budget amendment that updated the narrative to reflect the $14,000,000 Hornville loan passed unanimously as part of the larger 2026 appropriation vote.

Clarifying details from the meeting:

- Asset inventory: ~211 miles gravity lines; ~119 miles force mains; 3 treatment plants; ~4,300 manholes; 208 lift stations (spoken by DeGeneres).

- Deshraham plant: described as under construction and ~50% complete; funding includes FEMA recovery dollars (stated by DeGeneres).

- Hornville project: planning/design estimated at $14,000,000; near-term capacity increase to ~3.3 million gallons per day with phased filter additions possible for future growth (DeGeneres).

Ending note: Council members urged staff to keep the council updated on bid results and schedules for the Candler and Norco lift station projects.