South Milwaukee continues to invest in its wastewater treatment facility.
The latest example: An estimated $4.6 million in work that includes installation of a new and state-of-the-art ultraviolet disinfection system that will greatly increase plant capacity – and help during major flooding rainstorms.
The City Council will consider borrowing for the projects — through a 20-year state Clean Water Fund loan — at its meeting Tuesday night.
The upgrades, detailed in this document, are among those mandated by the state, and they were defined in a May 2006 study done of the wastewater treatment facility.
The biggest-ticket item is $2.2 for the new UV system. It would allow for the treatment of a peak flow of 17 million gallons per day, up from the current nine. Also planned are:
- $500,00 for a new pumping system, to replace the 30-year-old system that has exceeded its original design life;
- $400,000 for a new diesel generator to serve as a backup power source for the plant;
- $346,000 for various upgrades to the plant’s secondary digester;
- $244,000 for new “tube mixers”; and
- $200,000 for a new plant power distribution system.
The borrowing will be paid back in large part through a sewer rate increase the council approved in February. Learn more in this post.
I’d like to know what you think of the project, and the borrowing. Post your comments below!
As for me, I support the spending. I like the fact that we have independent water and sewer utilities, and, beyond the state mandates, we must spend what is necessary to keep them operating at a high level and for the long term.
Our utilities are positive points of difference for South Milwaukee. Let’s keep them that way.
South Milwaukee Blog 