Consultants present two wastewater-plant options: $5M upgrades or $14.2M capacity expansion

Eric Smith of HWC Engineering presented two alternatives for the wastewater plant. He described Alternative 1 as an expansion that "would get us up to, 1.0 5,000,000 gallons per day, average daily flow, 3,150,000 gallons per day peak flow" (capacity numbers stated in the packet) and listed major components: modified screens, larger raw sewage pumps, higher-efficiency aerators, a third clarifier, two additional digesters, phosphorus control (chemical injection), UV disinfection to replace gaseous chlorine, a screw press for dewatering, and a larger generator. He said the subtotal construction cost for that approach was about $10.3 million, contingency just over $1 million, and nonconstruction allowances that brought the total capital estimate to approximately $14.2 million.

Smith then described Alternative 2, a lower-cost set of equipment upgrades and rehabilitations that "does not gain us any capacity, but it does do a lot of beneficial things at the plant" and would still improve performance under higher flows. He presented an estimated capital cost (with contingency and nonconstruction allowances) of about $5,000,000 for Alternative 2; add-alternates such as a third digester or generator upgrades were discussed as optional items that would increase the total. Council members asked follow-up questions about operational cost, phosphorus chemical costs, and the trade-offs between addressing I&I versus expanding the plant.