City of Morrison Director of Public Works Gary Tresenriter invited the Editor on a visit to the Waste Water Treatment Plant construction site, on Wednesday afternoon, April 13, 2016. There were various activities in play, spanning nearly a dozen acres of dirt. Everyone was on task, from the departing UPS delivery man–“UPS and FedEx are coming here all the time,” Tresenriter stated–to a man washing cement from his truck’s sluice. Bill Covell, Senior Engineer Technician for Fehr Graham Engineering & Environmental, was watching from atop a berm. My first impression was that of a well-orchestrated beehive.
This was evident in the worker bees and drones pouring the concrete floor of half the Aero-Mod. Some guided the hose; some shoveled, sprayed, or smoothed the gray matter; others waited their turn on the next section. Outside the cage of rebar a “finish man” smoothed the floor rim with a float.
Tresenriter commented, “Every so many loads, TSC (Testing Service Corporation of Illinois) tests the concrete” to meet specifications. Morrison Quality Ready Mix[, owned by Randy Holesinger,] is the supplier. There are trucks from Princeton, IL, here, too.” A call to Quality Ready Mix clarified that all 760 yards of concrete installed Wednesday were locally produced in Morrison and Sterling, IL. The Princeton truck was rented for continuous hauling.
Also watching the pour was Superintendent Jamie Carlson, of Leander Construction, Inc. He has done “probably six waste water treatment plant jobs. This one is very similar to Stillman Valley[, IL, but] this is a little bigger. There are a lot of differences between treatment plants,” he added. Although no one will walk on the floors of the ten individual tanks, “air diffusors in [them] can be pulled up to service.”
Carlson will pour all the walls shown. The floor is 22″ thick with #5 rebar in a hand-tied grid; completed dimensions will be 159′ by 109′ with 16′ high walls. Beefier #7 rebar supports the walls, which will be 1′ 8″ thick. Once these steel-reinforced areas are poured, forms will be installed–where the cement trucks are shown–and the second half of the Aero-Mod floor will be constructed. He may set the remaining forms on Thursday, April 14.
“I’ve never seen a construction company as organized as these guys are,” stated Tresenriter. Workers “go over safety every other week.” Tresenriter brought Morrison Community Hospital EMS and Fire Department personnel to survey the site. “Their biggest concern,” he said, “would be getting people out of the hole [the floor area under construction].”
“About 95% of the water treatment happens here [in the Aero-Mod, with its] ten individual tanks, two aeration basins, and different processes. Water first is sent to the Screen and Grit Building. The objective is to remove any suspended materials, then lighter ones, leaving only tiny suspended materials that will settle and become sludge. Sludge is collected at the Control Building and pumped up to ground level. A filter press removes water and leaves bulk. This can be given to farmers [as fertilizer] or taken to the landfill.”
“A polymer is injected into the sludge, prior to it going through the filter press. It acts like a binder,” Tresenriter explained. “Now we use chlorine to disinfect sludge. [In the new plant] we will use ‘greener’ ultra-violet lights.”
Leander Superintendent Tom Utley directs a continuous circuit of “12-to-14 Quality Ready Mix trucks at a time.” As soon as one is emptied, the adjacent mixer is connected to the conveyor. Trucks churn their mix while waiting in line, close to the IL Route 78 site entrance.
This photo was taken Monday, April 11, by Tresenriter, using his personal drone. “I bought it a week ago Friday[, April 8. The view] is 50-to-60 feet above the Control Building.” The drone crashed on its maiden flight, but “it’s being repaired,” he said. Leander Superintendent Jamie Carlson stated his firm hired a drone this morning to film construction. He added he hopes to pour the top deck/floor of the Control Building’s Filter Room.
This portion of the Control Building will be covered by backfill. Where the men are will be at ground level.
This is the future location of the Excess Flow Storage Pond.
The future Screening and Grit Building will be to the north, near these manholes. Water flows through it down to different levels. Its brick facing will match that of the Well #5 building in French Creek Park.
All water comes into the larger manholes to begin the treatment process. “Excess water will be diverted to the smaller manhole. After heavy rains, water is returned from the Excess Flow Storage Pond and treated. The plant will handle 4,000,000 gallons per day in the Aero-Mod,” said Tresenriter.
Underground hydrants will be installed; fire hoses will be attached to clean the basin liners.
A smaller, shallow Storm Water Detention Basin, east of the Aero-Mod, is being prepared. It “will be dry most of the time,” noted Tresenriter. Two ponds further east will be “mowed,” he quipped, as they will rarely be filled with water.
This unofficial overflow collection pond was created by recent rains.
