From: Dan Huff
Sent: Wed Jul 22 08:31:07 2020
To: Gerald Fisher
Subject: Wastewater Treatment
Importance: Normal
Take a look at this when you have a chance -
We understand there are questions being asked regarding Wastewater Treatment Plant funding. Basically, the inquiry poses the question of how we were able to reduce new treatment plant costs from $50 million to $22.7 million (actually the cost is 28 million). Is the reduction attributable to money already being spent and design? Design cost is part of this total figure. The answer to this question goes back two-years to the beginning of this process and is generally discussed in the attached City Council briefing link. Many of these questions were asked by the governing body throughout the development and presentation process.
Wastewater treatment is not just the plant alone. There are many moving parts that must work together in order for the system to work properly. After years of neglecting these moving parts such as the collection system, manholes, headworks, pumps and lift stations, leaking filter repairs, etc., the City began to tackle these items as funding allowed. What we found is that following manhole repair (grouting), clean out caps, and finishing inflow and infiltration work on key projects was that the flow to the plant had been significantly reduced. The treatment plant has gone from treating _______mgd to ________mgd which is directly attributable to dedication to repair and improvement of the entire system. The link below discusses the work the City has been undertaking for the past two years and will continue to undertake.
https://www.cityofmolalla.com/publicworks/page/wastewater-treatment-plant-improvements
We reevaluated treatment plant size needs and developed a plan that constructs a plant to cover community needs over the next 20-years with capacity to add capacity into a treatment facility constructed to accommodate expansion. A person will notice that the reduction in monthly utility rates was significantly adjusted to address the lower cost for construction.