15 - Wastewater Treatment Plant - rehabilitation and replacementItem No. 15
TO: Mayor & City Council
FROM: John Godwin, City Manager
SUBJECT: WASTEWATER (SEWER) TREATMENT PLANT
DATE: April 15, 2019
BACKGROUND: As we have discussed for many years, the WWTP is very old, very
inefficient, and in need of complete rehabilitation and some component replacements. Beginning
in September 2013 the city began the process of identifying an engineering firm to help us with
this crucial project. Four large, experienced firms submitted their qualifications. An evaluation
team narrowed the choices to three, each of which made presentations in April 2014. Staff then
visited wastewater treatment facilities designed by each firm. In October 2014 evaluations were
completed by the team. Following thorough consideration, Garver was selected as the preferred
firm for the project. A Memorandum of Understanding was executed with Garver following city
council approval. Between December 2014 and August 2015 Garver joined us in meetings in
Austin with the Texas Water Development Board to explore funding options, completed
preliminary investigative work, and also participated in meetings with the city and board member
Kathleen Jackson here locally, all at no cost to the city. In January 2016 staff recommended that
the council authorize the hiring of Garver to perform phase 1 engineering work; however, the
council decided against that project, partly because no funds were available for construction.
STATUS OF ISSUE: This is a multi-year project, so it is very important to begin as soon as
practical. The first phase will alone take very many months; complete engineering and permit
work will likely take 18-24 months, and construction two to three years more. We cannot wait
until things get even worse or the state steps in and requires us to act under threat of significant
fines. Our old inefficient plant is well -taken care of and managed, but a major failure could be
extremely costly in fines and repairs/replacement, and the health risks are significant. It is
always better to hire an engineering firm and a construction company proactively rather than
while under a TECQ enforcement order. Our current plant is also insufficient to handle any
increase in industrial demand that might arise from successful economic development activity.
A new plant will be quite expensive and necessitate increases in wastewater rates for our
customers. The average increase should be about $7.60 per customer per month; large customers
will be noticeably more. Expenditures will come from the proceeds of a bond sale, perhaps
supplemented by TWDB loans or even the new FAST grants for which we recently became
eligible. A small percentage of these capital costs will be recouped by the increased efficiency
of a modern plant—e.g. lower costs for electricity, repairs, maintenance, etc.
BUDGET: Funding of $30+ million would require the sale of certificates of obligation (COs),
funded by increases in sewer rates.
RECOMMENDATION: Provide general direction to staff to proceed with the project, including
negotiating an engineering services agreement with Garver, Inc.
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WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
• Existing treatment plant was constructed in 1957, sited on property of a prior wastewater
treatment plant built in WWII to serve Camp Maxey.
• Expansion projects were made in 1987, 1991 & 1997.
• Current permitted capacity is 7.25 MGD.
• Annual average flow is 4.63 MGD.
• Peak flow has been as high as 9.97 MG (10/16/2018).
• Annual electricity costs are $250,000.
• The automatic bar screen project was completed 02/2019 ($1M + project).
• Rotary sludge press bid was awarded 02/2019; scheduled for delivery/installation 04/2019
($250K).
• Four (4) engineering firms submitted qualifications to our advertisement for RFQs. At the
conclusion of a twelve (12) month review and evaluation of qualifications, including site visits to
treatment plants designed by each, Garver Engineering was selected as the project engineer for
a complete rehabilitation of the WWTP.
• We are considering upgrading the treatment plant capacity to 9.5 MGD; in discussion with
Garver Engineering, the plan is to construct a facility with an initial lower capacity (based on
existing flow data), but to design a plant which can be expanded more readily as future capacity
is needed.
• An engineering feasibility study was completed in 2010 to determine the needs of the treatment
facility. One aspect thoroughly considered was siting of a new plant and/or having an additional
treatment plant constructed. It was determined the current location was best suited for
proposed improvements/upgrades, with a primary reason being the City of Paris already owns
the property, with Garver Engineering being able to design a facility using the current footprint.
Also, an additional plant was deemed unfeasible due to increased operation & maintenance,
additional staffing, and potential rerouting of collection lines
• Engineering design & TCEQ permitting is estimated to take —24 months
• Actual construction is estimated at —24 -36 months.
• Funding, based on $30M debt for this project, has been estimated to add $6.93 to $7.78/month
to a customer's bill.
• The existing WWTP is 62 years old, the equipment is labor intensive, and requiring much
manpower to stay within TCEQ permitted treatment ranges. Failure of any one component of
the treatment process has the potential to cause the facility to be out of compliance, which
could result in daily fines and also being required by TCEQ to implement improvements, in
addition to the risk of public safety by having improperly treated wastewater.
• A completely overhauled WWTP will be more efficient, more reliable and a safeguard to the
public health and safety .