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Council approves lift-station repairs after wastewater plant issues; engineering changes discussed
Summary
The council approved repairs to a malfunctioning lift station and discussed engineering upgrades to address lagoon short-circuiting and potential rerating of the wastewater plant; staff said fixes will improve accuracy of metered flows and help address ammonia concerns.
The Atlanta Town Council approved repairs to a failing lift station and voted to fund a confined-space inspection after staff said check-valve failures have been inflating metered flows.
John from the water department told the council the plant’s daily average flow for April (26 days) was roughly 44,461 gallons and described repeated short‑circuiting in the secondary lagoons that can reduce detention time and worsen ammonia readings. He said a consultant (engineer John Berglin of Donahghue) recommended installing floating baffles and adding aeration; with those changes and targeted camera work to find private lateral problems, the consultant suggested the plant could be rerated to about 120,000 gallons per day from its current 80,000‑gallon rating.
John summarized the operating problem at the lift station: check valves that do not seat reliably allow pumped water to flow back through long mains and be metered again, which overstates the town’s reported outflow. He said, “we’re pumping water twice,” and warned those malfunctions skew the town’s numbers until corrected.
Council considered two contractor estimates presented by staff: a primary repair to replace check valves and plug valves and a confined‑space entry to inspect and remove an obsolete pump for machining/repair. The council moved to approve the repair quote and separately approved the confined‑space inspection and related labor; both motions passed by voice vote. The minutes and staff account indicate the motion to replace the valves (quote S00590) was approved and the confined‑space entry (approximately $2,620) was likewise approved; the transcript records a voice vote but does not record roll‑call tallies or named yes/no votes.
Council members said they expect the repairs to produce more accurate flow figures and that, together with camera work to identify inflow/infiltration on private laterals, the measures could substantially reduce reported flows and buy time while the town evaluates a rerating package.
Next steps: staff will proceed with the approved repairs, complete the confined‑space inspection, and follow up with council about the results and any consultant recommendations for aeration or baffle installation.
