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Engineers outline three sewer-treatment upgrade paths; replacing headworks motors could curb costs
Summary
Consultants presented three options — mechanical activated sludge, lagoon upgrades with phosphorus removal media, and wetlands expansion (pilot required) — and reported promising tests suggesting replacing headworks motors (not pumps) could reduce upgrade costs to reach the 2.7M gpd design point.
Consultants updated the board on alternatives to upgrade the district’s wastewater treatment system to meet nutrient-discharge limits and future growth.
Engineer Glenn Thorpe framed the capacity question around a 2.7 million gallons-per-day hinge: "Everything is sized for a cap of 2,700,000 gallons per day," he said, explaining that the plant’s headworks, screens and other mechanical components drive the design. The team presented three main options: (1) a conventional mechanical activated sludge facility, (2) upgrading the existing lagoons with proprietary phosphorus-removal media (a middle-cost option that could reach roughly 3.5M gpd with modifications), and (3) constructed-wetland expansion (which consultants said would require a pilot season and substantial acreage, particularly to meet ammonia removal needs).
Consultants also reported encouraging results from tests that could allow the district to replace motors on the existing headworks rather than rebuild pumps and manifolds — a change that could substantially reduce costs for getting to the 2.7M gpd level. Staff said they would return with refined cost estimates and a PowerPoint presentation at the next meeting to support a board decision on the preferred upgrade path.
