MOUNT VERNON — In the past three weeks, Mount Vernon City Council approved $445,546 for improvements at the water treatment plant. In April, the council approved $750,000 for cleaning the city’s west sludge lagoon.
But the biggest expenses are yet to come: $1.5 million for replacing the two lime silos and $7 million for replacing the two concrete clarifier tanks.
Public Utilities Director Tom Marshall said all of the projects need to be done ASAP. He attributed the urgency to deferred maintenance.
There are four urgent projects:
•Lagoon lime removal
•Recarbonation panels replacement
•Clarifier rehabilitation
•Silo/slaker replacement
A fifth project, replacing the clarifier tanks, needs to happen within three to five years.
City Auditor Terry Scott said completing the projects involves prioritizing the improvements. Funding will come from various sources, including the utility improvement fund, current budget appropriations, potential grants, and a loan.
“We do have some resources to work with. I think on the bigger scale of things, as we get into the projects, some of them will be more pricey,” he said. “Obviously, we are not going to be able to garner all of the resources from our regular fees at this time and still operate our utilities.”
Scott said that looking toward the future and expanding services to neighboring townships, those townships have some resources to work with and will contribute to the cost. He noted, however, that he could not say when that would occur.
“Anything we can do to take the burden off of the customers,” he said. “We have to begin to figure out what other ways and resources are available without burdening the customer.”
Lagoon lime removal: $750,000
Council met in emergency session on April 4 to approve transferring $750,000 from the Water Utility Reserve account to the Water Plant Maintenance account to cover sludge removal costs.
Mayor Matt Starr said at the time that the west lagoon is full, with the east lagoon filling up rapidly. There was concern that a submerged pipe that moves sludge into the lagoon could clog up, in which case the city would have to shut down the water plant.
The city had two proposals for sludge removal. Ellis Brothers bid $702,000, and Kokosing Industrial bid $575,000.
“The two contractors that we have are really the only ones in the area that have the equipment — Kokosing Industrial and Ellis —to be able to do it. We’re talking continuous trucks all day long loading and unloading,” Marshall said during the meeting.
At their April 11 meeting, council members passed emergency legislation authorizing the safety-service director to waive bids and negotiate a contract with Kokosing. The contract is not to exceed $750,000 without coming back to council. Kokosing has not yet submitted any invoices for payment.
According to Marshall, the city has never emptied the lagoons. The permit process and site prep to remove the sludge started on April 12.
Sludge will continue to go into the east lagoon while the west lagoon is being cleaned. Once the west lagoon is empty, sludge will be pumped into it, and the east lagoon will be allowed to rest.
As of July 11, Marshall said the lagoon clean-up is going at record speed and is 40% to 50% completed.
Recarbonation panels: $219,246
At their July 11 meeting, council approved spending $219,246 for new recarbonation control panels.
Recarbonation is the step in the water treatment process in which carbon dioxide is added to reduce the pH level. The panels control the process.
“We’re down to only one panel. The other panel’s been robbed for parts,” Marshall said. “It’s on its last legs; it’s impossible to tell when it will fail.”
The Environmental Protection Agency requires two panels. With only one panel operational, the city is operating outside of the industry standard.
The new panels have a 20-year lifespan and can be used in the future when the plant upgrades to a different kind of recarbonation process.
The alternative to buying new panels is to repair the existing ones at an estimated cost of $80,000. The estimated lifespan of repaired panels is three years.
Funds for the panels will come from the utility improvement fund, which Scott said has been building for quite some time. Earlier this year, the city used cash from the fund to pay for the new underground reservoir on New Gambier Road.
West clarifier #1 steel rehabilitation: $226,300
Also at the July 11 meeting, council authorized the safety-service director to solicit qualifications from companies to rehabilitate clarifier #1. The rehab is estimated at $226,300.
A clarifier is a concrete tank in which liquids are separated from solids in the water treatment process. An internal steel mechanism performs the operation.
The clarifier tanks are in poor condition, and so are the internal components.
“We’re down to one clarifier; the other one, the mechanism won’t turn around inside of it. We need to sandblast that and re-coat it and get that working again,” Marshall said.
Funds for the clarifier rehab will come from the utility improvement fund.
Silo replacement: $1.5 million
The lime used in the water treatment process is stored in silos. Marshall said the two silos are in a dangerous condition and that he is amazed crews can keep them operating.
“The silos and slaking equipment are in very poor condition, rusted through structural components, failed equipment,” he said. “The east silo is inoperable. There is no way that will ever work again. The west silo is in imminent failure.”
Clarifier tanks replacement: $7 million
Replacement of the concrete clarifier tanks is a capital project of $7 million.
Marshall said the concrete is in “very, very poor condition” and needs replacing within three to five years.
“We are in the planning phase, comparing alternatives and performing soil borings. We need to complete this project ASAP due to the condition of the concrete structures,” Marshall said.
“The good news is when we get new tanks, we can take the guts of the existing tanks that we are going to rehabilitate and put them in the new tanks. Once we do all of that, we’ll be in really good shape in the water plant. The pumping process, the filtration process, the rest of the plant is in pretty good shape.”
Funding will come from a 20- to 30-year loan. The city recently retired its debt on the existing plant, which was built in 2000.
