The Community Room at the Odell Public Library, 307 S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL, was the venue for a City of Morrison Open House on Thursday, November 15, 2012, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Those interested in the future wastewater treatment project were invited to attend and view three tentative plans.
Fifty-nine attendees, other than elected officials, accepted.
Representatives of the City of Morrison and four of its consulting engineers were available to discuss three, tentative project renderings, answer individual questions, and record comments and suggestions offered by the public.
- Carl F. Fischer, PE, BCEE, oversees the Wastewater Division of of Baxter & Woodman.
- Jim Sparber is the Regional Manager of Baxter & Woodman, DeKalb, IL.
- Chris Buckley is an engineer for Baxter & Woodman.
- Mick Gronewold is a City of Morrison Consulting Engineer from Fehr Graham & Associates of Freeport, IL.
Shown left-to-right are Sparber, Fischer, an unidentified visitor, Alderman Scott Connelly, another unidentified citizen, and Gronewold. Sparber stated, “[There are] three versions of the plant at this point.” However, several points need to be addressed in choosing one of the three plant designs:
- soil-bore testing
- hydrology studies to orient the components on the site
- determination of the natural grade and flood plain areas
- resolving Whiteside County property ownership
- planning visual screening and landscaping.
Last year, Sparber, Fischer, Superintendent of Public Services Gary Tresenriter, and wastewater treatment Plant Operator Shane Osborn visited the Lawrence, KS, factory being considered. They toured two Kansas plants–DeSoto and St. Mary’s.
“They don’t smell,” Sparber said. He thinks the odor from the open-air “aeromod” is the biggest problem for five residents who live close to the areas being considered. The newer facilities use “a more-advanced process [and] are efficient. This equals better-quality affluent [discharge]due to screening and the grit tank,” which removes materials from the waste stream. “It reduces the time on cleaning, for example.”
There is planned a large “excess-flow lagoon that captures water [which the plant] can’t treat due to excess water–significant rainfall,” for example. This, too, is an open-air collection basin for sewage, but it will be diluted.
“Tanks are aerated every two hours; this releases gases a little at a time. Those smell less than that [old City] one did [when it was] brand new.”
The City dumps water into the Rock Creek now and meets all current standards. However, our treatment plant will not meet all the future State EPA demands, which originate from the Federal EPA.
Concerns in the New Orleans, LA, region about “Gulf hypoxy” already lay blame with States in the North.
Osborn cited a July 2009 study which projected the City could rehab the waste water treatment plant for $5 million, with another $5 million spent on the new well and water tower.
“There are more stringent ammonia limits [now. We] would have to remove nitrogen and phosphorus, too.”
To do so the City “would have to add structures” to the current plant. “The [two] sludge tanks will stay [in place] from the old plant,” he noted.
The July 2011 study projected a cost of “$12 million to build a new one,” Osborn added.
Fischer displayed a timeline for construction of the new facility.
- An engineering agreement with Baxter & Woodman was approved by the Council October 22, 2012.
- The Open House on November 15 was to introduce three alternative designs, none of which is a final plan.
- From November to December 31, the firm will plan what site layout to use and submit the design in January 2013.
- Another Open House will be scheduled for April to allow further public input. Fischer stated the firm used public input for the designs shown at this Open House.
- A design will be ready by the end of October.
- The IEPA permit will be secured by the end of 2013.
- “The best case is, we will finish construction by the end of 2015 or 2016.”
Baxter & Woodman will design the demolition of the old facility, too.
