Water and wastewater staff outline SCADA upgrades, sludge disposal options and capital needs

Plant and public-works staff outlined a multi-part plan for upgrades at the town’s water and wastewater facilities, emphasizing SCADA controls, inline instrumentation and a strategy to reduce chemical use by reading process parameters in real time.

A presenter explained that, with SCADA tied to chemical-feed controls, “anytime you make a flow change, it will automatically adjust the chemicals accordingly,” allowing staff to reduce overfeeding and lower long-term operating costs. The phased plan would allow the town to implement priority real-time sensors (pH, turbidity, chlorine) first and expand coverage later; low-end instrumentation and control work was described as a staged investment with potential savings from chemical reductions.

Staff also described sludge-management options: continuing current hauling (which cost roughly $45,000 last year), acquiring a screw press (quoted as a high-cost option), or contracting with a nearby city to add the town to a Class A permit to accept sludge, which staff suggested could be substantially cheaper. A local vendor is expected to return a quote soon on a contract hauling class-a option.

The presenters warned that certain plant repairs—notably chemical-feed room structural work and epoxy floor—could cost in the order of $100,000, more than current budget allocations. Board members asked staff to pursue grant funding, USDA loan options and to schedule follow-up meetings with prospective contractors and the neighboring city representative about sludge acceptance.