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Utilities director outlines $7M–$18M water-treatment options and SRF timeline
Summary
Utilities Director Will Sadler told the Adrian City Commission that ozone ($~7M), advanced oxidation ($~8M) and reverse-osmosis/nanofiltration ($~18M) are viable options to address taste-and-odor compounds; he urged an SRF intent-to-apply by Nov. 1 to secure low-interest funding and warned construction wouldn’t start before 2028.
Utilities Director Will Sadler presented a range of treatment options for Adrian’s lake-sourced drinking water and outlined grant and loan timelines the city must follow to pursue low-interest funding.
Sadler steered the commission through “good, better, best” choices based on a 2019 Tetra Tech study: ozone treatment (which removes roughly 90–95% of the taste-and-odor compounds the city is tracking), an advanced-oxidation process (ozone plus peroxide) that may approach 99% removal, and high-end nanofiltration/reverse-osmosis. “I would guess that the cost estimate on that would be around $7,000,000” for an ozone system, Sadler said, and estimated advanced oxidation at about $8,000,000. He said a full RO/nanofiltration system would likely be in the neighborhood of $18,000,000 and cautioned that RO produces a concentrated reject stream that requires disposal or a permit to discharge.
Sadler said the city’s short-term response will continue to emphasize powdered activated carbon and operational adjustments: recent testing showed jasmine and MIB levels in finished water at or below parts-per-trillion levels, though heavy rain can change lake conditions quickly.
On funding, Sadler recommended pursuing the State Revolving Fund (SRF) low-interest loans. He said the city must file an intent to apply by Nov. 1 to start the SRF clock; a more detailed project plan would be due the following spring (drinking-water projects typically have a June 1 project-plan deadline), with funding notifications the next fall and construction not anticipated before fall 2028. Sadler said SRF loans can be amortized for 20 or 30 years and noted prior projects have included partial principal forgiveness (examples cited from other local projects ranged roughly from 13% to up to 50% principal forgiveness on certain components).
Commissioners asked technical questions about the Wayne State sampling the city had discussed previously (Sadler: the DNA finding was not repeated by city testing and the presence of DNA in lake samples is expected), differences in taste at customer taps (Sadler: subjective differences, plumbing material, and local plumbing conditions can affect taste), and the age of distribution pipes (Sadler: city will research and report back). He also described optional investments to help monitor and manage lake conditions, including sonar units (~$24,000 each) and returning “solar bees” (quoted two units ≈ $140,000 together), which would require a competitive bid and could be partially funded through enhancement grants for water-quality improvements.
What’s next: staff will update cost estimates from Tetra Tech (Sadler expects updated cost numbers next month), evaluate pilot-study needs (Sadler said pilot tests can take 6–9 months for some systems), and proceed with SRF application planning if the commission directs. The commission did not take a final funding vote at the session.
