SALEM — The city Utilities Commission recently approved another $541,000 in engineering from Burgess and Niple to include the PONDUS system and sludge dewatering in Phase 3 wastewater treatment plant improvements.
Commission members authorized the additional funds after hearing a brief update on the proposed project, which Utilities Superintendent Don Weingart said may carry a price tag of $18 million to $19 million, even without considering inflation which could make the estimated cost go up even more.
Commission Chair Bob Hodgson said the PONDUS system will enhance the treatment of sludge to the point that the city can save $500,000 per year in sludge hauling costs because hauling it away won’t be necessary.
The Phase 3 project includes rehabilitating the trickling filter and converting the sludge handling process to full conventional anaerobic digestion, which will increase efficiency and reliability at the Pennsylvania Avenue plant.
Weingart said the engineering could be 90 percent complete by August and the project could be bid by September.
Plant manager Dean Stokes gave the commission some good news, noting that all personnel at the wastewater treatment plant are now certified operators and a few are working on getting to the next level of operator certification. He said he was pretty proud of them.
Brent Hall of Benesch Engineering gave an update on the water plant upgrade plans and Weingart talked again about water backflow devices, with some input given by distribution foreman Terry Endsley. It was decided that a procedure would need written regarding what type of equipment is sufficient for residential.
The commission entered into an executive session for 20 minutes for pending litigation, with no action taken.
The commission changed the date and time for the next meeting, announcing the next session will be 10 a.m. May 26. The two meeting following that will be 4 p.m. June 23 and 4 p.m. July 14.
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