PRESCOTT - The city may not yet be in crisis mode when it comes to treating its sewage, but experts say the existing wastewater system is getting close to its capacity.
And bringing the system up to necessary standards could add millions to the costs the city had earlier identified as necessary utility improvements.
In a presentation to the Prescott City Council on Tuesday, consultants with two engineering firms reported that more than $88 million in improvements to the city's wastewater treatment plants would be necessary in the next six years or so.
The Sundog treatment plant, the city's oldest, is the site of most of the improvement needs, according to the information from Daniel Buhrmaster of Black & Veatch.
In all, the report by the Black & Veatch and Carollo firms identified $56.1 million in needs at the Sundog plant, including a $33.8 million expansion and a $7.8 million improvement on headworks, septage, and odor control.
The city's other wastewater plant - the Airport Plant - also will require a major expansion totaling $32.2 million.
City Engineering Services Director Mark Nietupski started off the presentation by pointing out that while "we're not in a wastewater crisis," the city's treatment system faces "equipment deficiencies and insufficient capacities."
Among the deficiencies is the lack of "redundancy" or a backup system for a number of features at the airport plant, said Mark Courtney of Carollo.
"If you lose a key unit or two, you're basically out of the treatment business," Courtney said.
The $88 million figure for current needs is significantly more than the city had estimated back in 2008, when a 21-member Capital Needs Committee evaluated a variety of capital needs in the community.
At that time, the city's utility department had estimated the cost of wastewater-treatment-plant improvements at about $39.6 million.
This week's presentation was the result of a wastewater master plan that Black & Veatch and Carollo recently conducted for the city.
City Regional Program Director Craig McConnell pointed out that the earlier figures from the utility department "did not have the benefit of the in-depth analysis that was presented today."
Tuesday's discussion was a workshop only, and city staff members emphasized that it was not a forum for any decisions by the council.
That likely will come sometime in early 2010, after the council conducts a goal-setting retreat in January, as well as during the budgeting process for the next fiscal year, which will begin soon afterward.
Among the issues the council will consider is where the money would come from to pay for the improvements. The master plan report listed a number of possible sources, including rates, bonds, grants and loans, impact fees, and cash reserves.
To coincide with the council's consideration of the master plan, Nietupski said a consultant also is working on an updated evaluation of the city's water and sewer rates. He said he expects a report on that study to go to the council in about mid-January.
The last major improvements on the Sundog plant occurred about 20 years ago, while the airport plant underwent an expansion about 10 years ago. The master plan notes that Prescott's population has approximately doubled since 1980 - a factor that has contributed to the plants' capacity issues.
Posted: Sunday, December 13, 2009
Article comment by:
Rich Kramer
Non native Arizonans plan your departure ASAP.
Please and thank you.
Sincerely, Those you have impacted adversly.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
flush twice
Do I have this correct? We don't have a problem reaching far and wide for more water supplies, while putting wastewater improvements on the back burner, or no burner.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Dave
Hey NO NAME- The City is running and has been running "ill equipped" facilities for years. No one has been willing to face this reality. The City states that these facilities meet Federal Standards; yet we all know that these Federal Regulations have been minimized for the past 25-30 years, since the "Get Government Off our Backs" mantra became the rage of the common guy. Weak City Leaders have been afraid to tell the truth in the past because of the costs required to put potable water back into the ground. Unfortunately, it's now coming back to bite us in more ways than one. YES FOLKS DIRTY, SEMI-POLLUTED WATER is being recharged back into the aquifers. Councilman Luzius(SP) attempted to halt this study until the Council looked at a firm that installed a "clean water plant" in Surprise could present to the Council. I remember that the Council Agenda was tabled so they could review this alternative Company. I never heard the results... It sounds as if the Council went forward with a study to simply overhaul the existing infrastructure and continue to put substandard water back into the ground.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Growth Does Not Pay For Growth
So much for the myth that growth pays for growth! Doesn't anyone in our local government (City and County) have any common sense??? Apparently we are out of control at every level!
Too bad it's all about the money - and not about the people!
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Facts for the No Name Provided folks
The City of Prescott got about 3,800 acre-feet of "return flow" to its wastewater treatment plants, 1993-2004, according to their 2005-2010 water management policy report.
From 1999-2004 they recharged 2,186 acre-feet; that means it went into the recharge pond near the airport and sank down into the water-bearing rock formations (aquifer) underground.
There's more, and it makes my brain itch, but the point is -- the effluent doesn't all go to golf courses. Some of it (bearing whatever pharmaceuticals and other endocrine disruptors it may) goes into the aquifer.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
This amount is just to get up to today's needs. Now the city is faced with annexation of thousands more homes and hundreds of thousands of tons of more "curds" flowing to the treatment plant. I hope the new mayor and council will put a moratorium on annexation and any growth of any kind until we can get a grip on the present needs of a beautiful city. Please please folks, don't let developers ruin what we've got and please don't let this council approve growth not conducive with the quality of life we have grown to love and expect. Most people have a "not in my back yard" attitude but Prescott is still small enough to be concerned with everyone's back yard. It's now or never with this new council. Once the campaign contributions come rolling in the average taxpayer will have no influence until the next election and then the damage is done.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
not rocket science
Anybody that thinks that the costs of these improvements will be paid for by impact fees or new users still believes in the tooth fairy lol. The water/wastewater/sewer/trash collection services are paid for with your utility bills so that the thing breaks even. So if they need 80 million in improvements over time that's where the money will come from. Our bill will go up, just like your gasoline bill goes up at the pump when oil prices to up.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Priorities
We can build another huge interchange at Side Road but we can't treat sewage! This is BRILLIANT leadership.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
ArmyVet
Of great concern is the effluent being put back into the ground water. How does that impact on the arsenic levels, mercury levels and pharacuticals that cannot be cleaned out leading to DNA mutation in males!.Know anyone with heart disease, cancer, or kids with developmental disabilities? The cause can very well be the recycled water supply.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Let's vote
Oops, over $40 million, so you tree huggers can vote this down.Most of the effluent water is used to water all the area golf courses but the city staff should have had a better idea,plan and cost estimate than this. Expect a hike in fees for all and impact fees should double.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Dan
Water will always be a concern weather it be drinking water or waste water. If Prescott is all ready collecting a fee for future growth problems then the city should look at this as a chance to bring the treatment plants up to standards and have the growth along with jobs.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
Hey no name that is not true!!!! That effluent is used on the golf course and is NOT put back in the ground..if the plants were ill equiped etc etc all of Prescott would know it trust me...check out your information before you comment plz
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Cassandra
Let's make sure that the costs of increased sewer capacity are borne by the new users. That means impact fees.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
An American
i'll be the first to admit i dont know how to run a town. but i do know a little about business. does not the city collect a fee from every house that is connected to sewer? and is not this fee suppose to cover the cost of the operation? i guess with all the positioning over development and future water they forgot that all these newcomers that they are wanting to attract will actually need to use the restroom....
our government officials could bankrupt a lemonade stand and then blame it on someone else!
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
I.M.Blockedup
You wanted to grow, baby, grow. Now pay, baby, pay.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
The report did not give Prescott very high marks. I found it to be obvious that the city had very little regard to the treatment of the effluent that it has been putting into our drinking water aquifer. It was also clear that the treatment plants were substandard, ill equiped and in a state of disrepair.
Posted: Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Article comment by:
Makes Sense to Me
What we clearly need here is more annexations, some additional sub-divisions, and lots more people using more water and generating more waste. Growth will solve the problem; just ask any developer, large landowner, or realtor--or Prescott area elected or appointed official.
