Oglesby’s going ahead with having Chamlin and Associates design a new wastewater treatment plant the Environmental Protection Agency wants built by the end of 2028 and could cost up to $17 million. The company’s Senior Water and Wastewater Treatment Engineer, Don Bixby, says it could be designed to handle up to a million gallons a day without putting the city in a more expensive sewer plant licensing class. The city uses 400,000 gallons a day now, so it’ll have room for growth.
Audio PlayerCity Commissioner Tom Argubright voted for the contract, but he questioned the $2 million design cost and why the city’s not upgrading the sewer plant it has. Bixby says it’ll be more costly to maintain to do that. The new treatment plant will use equipment that has the fewest moving parts so fewer mechanical parts will need to be replaced. Commissioner Jason Curran says the current treatment plant is so old, mere upgrades aren’t a viable option.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has told the city it must replace the sewer plant so the city is in compliance with wastewater discharge rules.