Municipal Authority approves Garver work order to plan wastewater recovery upgrades using microplastics grant funds

The Midwest City Municipal Authority voted to approve Work Order No. 2400949 to Garver LLC for engineering services related to the city—s water resources recovery facility master planning project.

City staff presented the work order as part of a broader wastewater master plan and said it will help the treatment plant plan for growth and address media and microplastics issues. Carrie (staff) said some of the microplastics funds the city received are a "100% principal forgiveness" loan and that those funds can be applied to the project; she said the work order total as spoken is "$417,244 $245" and that "about 60% of it" will be covered by the microplastics funds while the remainder will come from wastewater funds.

A representative from Garver Engineering, Bryce Callis, who the record notes is a Midwest City resident, was present to answer questions. Councilmembers and trustees discussed the need to plan past the plant—s original 2030 design and to evaluate treatment capacity for liquids and solids.

A motion to approve the work order was made, seconded and carried by voice vote. No roll-call vote totals were recorded in the spoken record; trustees expressed appreciation to staff for securing grant funds and to Mr. Callis for his assistance.

Next steps discussed included completing the Garver pilot analysis (noted to be nearing one year and concluding around March) and using the pilot results to assess whether proposed media changes reduce microplastic contributions to the system. Staff said further study and recommendations would follow.