Council updated on sewer plant upgrade
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Paul R. Noland Wastewater Treatment Plant went through a major upgrade in 2007, according to the annual report presented to the Fayetteville City Council at its agenda session Tuesday.
A total of 15. 5 million pounds of pollutants were treated at the plant in 2007, said Billy Ammons, regional business manager for OMI, which operates the plant.
"The plant performs very well," he said. "That's been relatively consistent over the 20 years of the plant."
The improvement project at the plant included a new headworks building, which is where sewage enters the plant and the initial stage of treatment takes place, as well as a new solids handling building.
A new influent fine screen was installed at the headworks building, as well as a new full-flow grit removal system.
An odor control system was installed to address the last significant odor source, Ammons said.
Ammons said there are some future issues for concern, including energy cost fluctuations and electrical fuel cost adjustments. The plant depends on a lot of electricity, he said.
"We spent $ 60, 000 in the last two months in fuel cost adjustments alone," he said. "It's a potential problem, and there's not much we can do about it."
Another concern is the expected landfill cost increases and the availability of landfill space, he said.
A lot of them have been restricted from taking sludge, Ammons said.
"An alternate method of disposing of biosolids needs to be a high priority," he said.
The good news is that the plant is still removing more than 98 percent of pollutants and has not had any permit violations, Ammons said.
The city was also presented with a refund check of $ 294, 246 for 2007.
Dave Jurgens, Fayetteville's water and sewer director, said the new westside treatment plant will begin receiving wastewater this month. A soft opening will be held June 12, he said, with a formal opening in August or September.
In the next three months, he said, the Noland plant will transition into a completely different functioning plant, biologically. It will handle 50 percent wastewater, he said.
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