Background

Water service was available to all of city residents, although inadequate supply and pressure made the service less than reliable. The water system lacked sufficient treatment, storage and distribution capacity and failed to meet several state design criteria. The water treatment plant had a capacity of 1.50 million gallons per day (mgd). In addition, the city was cited for numerous monthly violations of total trihalomethane (TTHM) concentrations in finished water. Only about 30% of the city was connected to the wastewater collection system, while the remainder used substandard septic tanks or cesspools to dispose of their wastewater. These facilities posed a significant health risk to the community since most were built on undersized lots or areas with soil conditions unsuitable for septic systems. The existing treatment capacity at the wastewater treatment plant was 0.360 mgd, and it was operating at or near capacity. The facility was cited by the state environmental agency for failing to meet the minimum design standard for treatment capacity

Project Scope

The certified project consisted of the following components:

Water system improvements included installing 52,600 linear feet  of waterlines; building a 200,000-gallon elevated storage tank; improving a booster station; and increasing treatment capacity to 5.15 mgd. 

Wastewater system improvements included installing 359,550 linear feet of sewer pipe; improving 22 lift stations and installing 96,900 linear feet force mains; installing 3,688 new sewer connections, and increasing wastewater treatment capacity to 2.36 mgd in two phases, each of which would add 1.0 mgd.

Following certification, the City obtained additional funding from other sources and was able to expand the project scope to include additional water distribution and wastewater collection lines, as well as increase the water tank capacity to 300,000 gallons.

Benefits

The project improved the existing water system by providing the infrastructure for adequate production, storage, and water quality in compliance with regulatory requirements. The wastewater system was upgraded to comply with regulatory requirements and expanded to address unserved areas, thus eliminating risks for groundwater contamination and human exposure to untreated wastewater discharges. At project completion in 2010, wastewater service coverage had been increased from 29% to 81% of households with the installation of 2,764 connections.