Before the Monday, Jan. 8 city council meeting Zane Lewis of McClelland Consulting Engineers spoke during a workshop on equipment failures at the city water treatment facility. McClelland has been retained by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality to communicate changes being made.
Issues at the sewer plant over the past year include screening and grit removal equipment coming to the end of life, multiple equipment failures due to that equipment not keeping rocks and other debris out of the facility, and a Sanitary Sewer Overflow.
To continue wastewater treatment plant permit compliance McClelland covered minimum recommendations that included repairing or replacing screenings and grit removal systems, providing aerated sludge storage and pumping, having a stocked spare parts storage area, cleaning all Sequencing Batch Reactor basin units, and demolition of abandoned treatment units. Lewis also covered additional recommendations and explained that it would be cheaper for the city to make those additions while contractors were on site rather than waiting. Those included a structural repair of concrete at SBR reactor basins, equipment overhauls, and tree trimming.
Lewis covered possible additions as well, providing a site plan that would be above budget but described as the “best plan for the site.” With the changes required for the plant and additional suggestions, McClelland estimated the project cost at $6 million. He explained they hoped to bring the cost down and said the cost will only go up in the next five years. In that budget is $1,040,000 as construction contingency in case costs go up before the city begins work on the plant.
If the city fails to make minimum recommendations, there will be fines from DEQ and possible arrests to treatment plant facility employees. Handling the minimum recommendations means DEQ will be happy and utility rates will most likely need to be raised to cover the cost of changes. Lewis said that if McClelland’s additional recommendations are made, the treatment facility will be beyond good standing.
Lewis said that federal loans could handle much of the cost, though council would need to have a resolution for the mayor to have signatory status to sign off on the loan applications. He also said they recommend the city perform a rate study and the slide stated that McClelland “anticipates a recommendation for a sewer, and water rate increase.”
Regarding actual contracting costs, it is typical that after McClelland creates plans for construction it would go out to bid for a month and then the city would choose a contractor based on those bids. Lewis offered the “construction manager at risk” option which translates to projects in Arkansas above $2 million. The city may choose a contractor to work with McClelland Engineering on design, with McClelland updating costs as they go. Once design is finished, if the city finds the project equitable they may proceed. If not, the city may seek other options.
Alderman Terry McClung asked how many contractors McClelland works with, and Lewis said there are at least four firms they’ve worked with on projects.