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City to talk about wastewater needs
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| Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent John Henderson describes the function of the clarifying tank which has scraping arms that need to be replaced. The arms help move solid waste to the center of the tank for treatment in another section of the plant. Independent/Scott Kingsley |
By Tracy Overstreet
tracy.overstreet@theindependent.com
The Grand Island City Council will talk about the long-term future of one of the city’s biggest pieces of public infrastructure — the wastewater treatment plant.
It is the sole item before the council in a Tuesday night study session.
The review was prompted in part by the upcoming permitting process between the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant.
DEQ issues permits that allow an industry to discharge certain levels of pollutants in wastewater. Those discharges can affect the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which also must be permitted, and the environment.
As a case in point, JBS had numerous violations of its current discharge permit in 2008 that caused a massive fish kill in the Wood River. The discharges also caused the city to violate its own discharge permit with DEQ.
As a result, DEQ issued notices of violation to JBS and the city and issued an emergency order April 14, 2008, to the meatpacker. It put restrictions on JBS discharges until a new discharge permit is issued.
After the fish kill, Mayor Margaret Hornady threatened to shut the meatpacking plant down unless improvements were made. In response, JBS accelerated its project to construct an additional on-site pre-treatment lagoon. That went on line in July, but the existing pre-treatment lagoon was taken off line for cleaning.
That existing lagoon is expected to be put back in service this month, but it may take 12 to 18 months to balance out the use of both pre-treatment lagoons and the discharges that are then sent on to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, said Grand Island Public Works Director Steve Riehle.
That balancing affects the “strength” of the discharge from JBS, Riehle said. Strength of discharge — or the amount of pollutants in the water — dictates the rate the city charges to an industrial customer.
Also factored into the sewer costs for industrial customers is the volume of discharge and the amount of dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, oil and grease, and ammonia in the sewage. JBS also pays a fee for the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the sewage, Riehle said.
Those rates for JBS are key to the city council’s long-term decision making because it affects the affordability of the wastewater treatment plant.
Industrial and commercial customers provide 70 percent of the treatment plant’s revenue, yet are just 16 percent of the customer base, Riehle said.
The wastewater treatment plant is funded by user fees only.
No property or sales taxes are used for the treatment plant, Riehle said. The average residential cost of the plant is about $20 a month.
JBS, by far, is the biggest industrial customer. It contributes to 50 percent of the treatment plants loads, he said.
Beyond the impact of JBS on the future planning for the wastewater treatment plant, the city must also consider the needs of the plant itself.
Riehle said the plant at 555 S. Stuhr Road was built in 1964 and much of the infrastructure is still original.
“There’s corrosion,” said Wastewater Superintendent John Henderson.
He pointed to the metal mixers, known as “rakes” that stir solids out of the plant’s primary clarifiers. The rakes have degraded and have been patched numerous times.
A full replacement of the rakes, which is needed, will cost $990,000, Henderson said.
On Tuesday night, Riehle will walk the council through the permitting process, future upgrades for the plant and the impact JBS has on the plant.
If you go
What: Grand Island City Council meeting.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Grand Island City Hall, 100 E. First St.
Topic: Industrial waste water permitting.
It is the sole item before the council in a Tuesday night study session.
The review was prompted in part by the upcoming permitting process between the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant.
DEQ issues permits that allow an industry to discharge certain levels of pollutants in wastewater. Those discharges can affect the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which also must be permitted, and the environment.
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As a result, DEQ issued notices of violation to JBS and the city and issued an emergency order April 14, 2008, to the meatpacker. It put restrictions on JBS discharges until a new discharge permit is issued.
After the fish kill, Mayor Margaret Hornady threatened to shut the meatpacking plant down unless improvements were made. In response, JBS accelerated its project to construct an additional on-site pre-treatment lagoon. That went on line in July, but the existing pre-treatment lagoon was taken off line for cleaning.
That existing lagoon is expected to be put back in service this month, but it may take 12 to 18 months to balance out the use of both pre-treatment lagoons and the discharges that are then sent on to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, said Grand Island Public Works Director Steve Riehle.
That balancing affects the “strength” of the discharge from JBS, Riehle said. Strength of discharge — or the amount of pollutants in the water — dictates the rate the city charges to an industrial customer.
Also factored into the sewer costs for industrial customers is the volume of discharge and the amount of dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, oil and grease, and ammonia in the sewage. JBS also pays a fee for the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the sewage, Riehle said.
Those rates for JBS are key to the city council’s long-term decision making because it affects the affordability of the wastewater treatment plant.
Industrial and commercial customers provide 70 percent of the treatment plant’s revenue, yet are just 16 percent of the customer base, Riehle said.
The wastewater treatment plant is funded by user fees only.
No property or sales taxes are used for the treatment plant, Riehle said. The average residential cost of the plant is about $20 a month.
JBS, by far, is the biggest industrial customer. It contributes to 50 percent of the treatment plants loads, he said.
Beyond the impact of JBS on the future planning for the wastewater treatment plant, the city must also consider the needs of the plant itself.
Riehle said the plant at 555 S. Stuhr Road was built in 1964 and much of the infrastructure is still original.
“There’s corrosion,” said Wastewater Superintendent John Henderson.
He pointed to the metal mixers, known as “rakes” that stir solids out of the plant’s primary clarifiers. The rakes have degraded and have been patched numerous times.
A full replacement of the rakes, which is needed, will cost $990,000, Henderson said.
On Tuesday night, Riehle will walk the council through the permitting process, future upgrades for the plant and the impact JBS has on the plant.
If you go
What: Grand Island City Council meeting.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Grand Island City Hall, 100 E. First St.
Topic: Industrial waste water permitting.
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