Friday, December 8, 2000
Friday, December 8, 2000 |
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WASA approves funds to begin design for future expansion of sewer system
By JOHN
MUNFORD
The Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority has approved a plan to begin the preliminary design that would double the capacity of the Rockaway sewage treatment facility. At its meeting Monday night, WASA approved spending up to $240,000 on the preliminary design process for the expansion. Currently, the Rockaway plant can treat two million gallons per day, but after the proposed expansion it will be able to treat four million gallons per day. The expansion will not only help meet the city's future sewer needs, but it will also allow the city to close its oldest sewage treatment facility which has become expensive to operate, Turner added. The authority has already taken the first step toward getting permission from state environmental regulators by performing a watershed assessment study, said WASA General Manager Larry Turner. After the preliminary design is completed, which is expected to take six months, it must be submitted to the EPD for approval, Turner said. "Then it depends on how long it takes them to issue the draft permit," Turner said. After the EPD approves the preliminary design, it should take another four months to finish the final design, Turner said. It could be a year or more before construction on the expansion actually begins, he added. In other business, the authority approved a $584,350 contract to replace three pump stations: one by Lake Peachtree, one behind the Publix shopping center and one off Stratford Court. The contract goes to Willow Construction, Inc. which has performed work for the city before, Turner said. Willow Construction was the low bidder, with the next highest bid at over $617,000 and the other three bids received were over $700,000 each. The construction will take approximately nine months although a pre-construction conference is scheduled for next week, Turner said. The authority also approved the issuance of a credit card to be used by WASA staff for purchases. Turner said the card would allow some supplies and other necessities to be purchased at lower costs over the Internet as opposed to making purchases in stores. The card has a $5,000 limit and would be paid off each month, Turner assured the authority. The card would also make it easier for employees to pick up items at stores that don't like to deal with the purchase order process. The card would be checked out by the employee and a receipt must be brought back with the purchase when the card is turned back in, Turner said. Turner also briefed the authority on two permit violations at the Flat Creek plant which were reported in September. He said the violations involved the presence of ammonia, but so far there is no explanation as to how the chemical showed up. More tests are being conducted by a private lab to see if the ammonia results were due to a testing error, Turner added. The tests are conducted regularly by WASA staff.
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