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Water & Resource Recovery Center outlines $3M‑plus FY27 work on odor control, sludge handling, and operational reliability
Summary
The Water & Resource Recovery Center proposed a 9% sewer fee increase to fund odor mitigation, activated‑sludge train cleaning, controls upgrades, hauled‑waste infrastructure and a facility planning update; staff described chemical dosing successes and a phased controls replacement plan.
The Water & Resource Recovery Center told the council on April 7 that it will continue a multi‑year program to reduce odors, restore reliable treatment performance and modernize controls. Director Darren Miring presented the WRRC’s FY2027 budget request and a strategic set of initiatives intended to reduce hydrogen‑sulfide odors, improve redundancy and protect treatment reliability.
Miring said WRRC treats roughly 7 million gallons per day on average and manages about 2.5 billion gallons annually. Staff noted recent operational gains — including reduced energy use per gallon and targeted chemical dosing programs that have significantly reduced hydrogen sulfide in certain process units — and proposed new investments to sustain that progress.
Key FY27 actions in the recommended budget include continued chemical dosing in digesters (ferric chloride and hydrogen peroxide), an expanded activated‑sludge cleaning program (incremental contract work to clean sludge trains), improved process instrumentation for near‑real‑time monitoring and the first phase of a multi‑year industrial controls (MCC) replacement schedule to modernize aging control systems. Miring said the facility also will finish implementation of a hauled‑waste receiving and transfer area previously funded in FY26; that project is largely supported by tipping fees and was aided by a $2 million congressional community project grant to reduce the per‑gallon charge in early years.
Because odor emerges from multiple upstream and in‑plant factors, WRRC described odor control as a system problem rather than a single fix. Miring told the council the FY27 program marries source control (dosing and upstream lift‑station work), asset reliability investments (spares and MCC upgrades) and improved data and operator tools — and that the budget includes both operational funds and capital dollars to advance those approaches.
A 9% proposed sewer fee increase was presented to cover rising energy and chemical costs as well as the capital needs. Staff committed to monthly public updates on odor control progress and to return with requested detail on sequencing and cost estimates for the MCC/control upgrades.
Councilors thanked staff for the detailed plan and requested continued community outreach and a clear schedule for the equipment replacement phases. No vote was taken on the WRRC budget at the session.
