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Wastewater plant near completion: Paris staff report phase-one 87.5% done, phase two underway
Summary
Utilities Director Danny Roel told the Paris City Council the wastewater treatment plant expansion is moving toward startup with phase one 87.5% complete (estimated October 2026) and phase two about 53% complete with an August 2027 finish; Roel described equipment, sequencing, sludge handling and permit needs for land application of Class A biosolids.
The Paris wastewater treatment plant expansion is progressing toward operational testing, Utilities Director Danny Roel told the City Council on June 22.
Roel said phase one’s notice to proceed was issued in January 2023 and the work is about 87.5% complete with an estimated final completion in October 2026. He reported phase two—also with a January 2023 notice to proceed—is roughly 53.26% complete and expected to finish in August 2027.
Roel reviewed major components installed or nearing completion: bar screens and grit removal to protect downstream equipment, influent pump stations with redundant pumps, two primary clarifiers (each ~455,000–456,000 gallon capacity), aeration basins with a combined capacity of about 2.1 million gallons, secondary clarifiers with a splitter box to allow tanks to be taken out of service for maintenance, blower buildings, belt presses for sludge dewatering, and holding tanks for sludge management. He noted redundancy in pumps and blowers to minimize risk of outage.
On biosolids handling, Roel explained that land application requires a state permit and that sludge must meet pathogen-reduction criteria (Class A) before being sprayed on acreage. He said some operational details, such as return-sludge ratios, will be adjusted once the plant is online and testing begins.
Roel described sequencing for startup: fill systems with water for operational testing, troubleshoot and repair as necessary, and then seed the aeration basins with sludge to establish the biological process before normal operation. He invited council members to tour the site and offered to arrange visits for council when conditions permit.
Next steps: staff will continue construction oversight, begin operational testing on completed units, and work on permit and biosolids management plans required before full operation.
