Construction (cont'd), February 23, 2009 District works to build a new treatment plant to meet EPA standards, handle growth By Dl LEWIS Standard-Examiner staff dlewis@standard.net OGDEN — While the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District is digging deep, sewer rates for many Weber County residents are going up. The sewer district is building a parallel treatment plant directly to the east and north of the existing treatment plant at 2618 W. Pioneer Road. The new plant is a $140 million upgrade and expansion project that is already under way, which General Manager Lance Wood said is necessary to meet more stringent Environmental Protection Agency standards and increased demand from population growth. Residents from South Weber in Davis County to the northern Weber County line and from the mountains to Hooper will be affected by the change, Wood said, but all of the construction will happen at or near the existing facility., Most people will feel the bite of an increased utility bill though. Many residents are upset about rate changes, Wood said, with cities raising utility bills by an average of about $6 a month. The sewer district bills the cities and the cities raise rates depending on their budgets, he said. While he knows people are unhappy about the cost, Wood said the district received $10 million in state grant money to help with the cost and is on the list for money from the federal stimulus bill. The rest of the project is being financed through bonds, higher rates and increased impact fees, he said. Stricter EPA standards require the upgrade, Wood said. When the plant was built 50 years ago, the EPA required measurements and reports on only three items. Wood said the plant is now required to track more than 20 items, such as pH, oxygen levels and metals in the water. As the facility's permit is renewed every five years, Wood said the rules have become more stringent and if the sewer district wasn't working to- BETH SCHLANKER/Standard-Examiner Workers install a 108-inch reinforced concrete pipe for the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District in Marriott-Slaterville. ward the improvements, the EPA could fine the plant as much as $100,000 a day. The current plant serves about 170,000 people, and Wood only expects that number to go up. The district has the capacity to process 45 million gallons of water a day, although Wood said the daily average is between 30 million and 35 million gallons. The new facility will increase capacity by another 30 million gallons. Seven years ago when renewing the permit, Wood said employees realized the plant wasn't in line with future standards and growth in the area, so they began looking at different options, finally settling on building the new plant. "Because of the dollar amount we did value engineering. We turned it over to other engineers who pick it apart, find fault and im- BETH SCHLANKER/Standard-Examiner Courtney Keller (left) and Luis Martinez install a 108-inch reinforced concrete pipe for the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District. prove. They do everything pumped off the top into the they can to make sure we have the best solution," he said. Not all phases of the project have been bid yet, but bid prices have dropped during the past year, he said, and the project is expected to come in at the estimated cost. Waste water is pumped into the plant and first goes through a coarse screening to remove large objects. From there it enters a clari- fier, where sediment settles to the bottom and water is aeration basin or trickling filters. The current plant will remain in use during and after construction, with the only change being the demolition of two trickling filters, which clean water by using microorganisms to remove contaminants. The new plant includes the more modern large, rectangular aeration basin in place of the trickling filters to clean waste from the water. The aeration basin uses diffused air to feed the tiny organisms that eat waste. The water is then sent back for additional clarification. Finally, it's chlorinated and discharged. A 9-foot-diameter pipe is being installed from the facility to the Warren Canal in Mariott-Slaterville to handle increased outgoing water flow. Any water not used by irrigation is then taken to the Weber River. None of the water is recy cled for culinary use. Wood said winter is thi best time to dig becaust the groundwater is lower sc it causes fewer problems. The plant buildings, especially the coarse screener, go deep into the ground. The optimistic completion date is spring 2011 but he said it may take a few more months to complete, depending on weather. 33