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Water system improvements topic of Rotary meeting
by Denise Schoppe
Staff writer
The Marlin Democrat
July 13, 2005
Two engineers from KSA Engineers addressed the Marlin Rotary Club last week to present the organization with the plans for improving the city's current water system.
Robert L. Thurber and Stephen Dorman told the members that improvements made to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, Waste Distribution System and Water Treatment Plants have been planned out and that work is projected to begin in the coming months.
Decisions on what needed to be done to improve the system were based on a 2004 study of the current system as well as demands being placed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
"TCEQ sets rules and standards that must be followed," Dorman said. "We will be focusing on getting the city into compliance with those standards."
One item being demanded by TCEQ is that the old trickling filter plant that Marlin used up to the early 90s be closed completely. Many of the structures from that plant remain today.
Improvements to the current Wastewater Treatment Plant include putting up new fences around the site, installing influent flow meters as required be TCEQ, installing new aerators and to clean sludge from the ponds at the plant to regain full capacity.
Funding for improvements to the wastewater treatment plant will come from a $250,000 grant from ORCA and from the $2,225,000 loans from Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).
Dorman then presented the Rotarians with plans for water distribution. He said the existing system has one high service pump station, two elevated storage tanks -- the Old Depot tank (200,000 gallons) and the Royal Street tank (800,000 gallons) -- and approximately 280,000 linear feet, or 53 miles, of water lines.
Improvements to the system will be to replaced existing 18" Reinforced Concrete Cylinder Pipe (RCCP) with new 18" PVC from the water treatment plant to FM 2308, create two pressure plants, install a new 500,000 gallon elevated water tank at old Tin Hat location, and replace 45,000 linear feet of water lines.
The water treatment plant's original plant was constructed in 1948.
"Today's plant has many deficiencies which include a need to improve treatment chemical storage and delivery, rehabilitate or replace filters, provide redundancy of critical components and improve the plant to current standards," Dorman said.
To do all that is needed, KSA will drudge the area next to the intake structure at the plant, repair clarifiers, modify chemical feed, replace pumps, replace filters, provide additional ground storage, construct new sludge processing units, provide emergency electric generators, rework the electrical system, install computer monitors and control instrumentation and construct a new office and lab.
"The waste water treatment plant is the most expensive part of the entire project," Dorman said.
Estimated cost of repairs and maintenance is $9,225,000.
One way KSA will improve wastewater cleaning is by use of ultra filtration membranes with provide a physical barrier to particles, whereas before there was the use of coal and sand to clean the water. Pore size in the filters is highly uniform which provides "absolute" removal of particles and microorganisms, Dorman said.
Turbidity, which refers to how clear the water is, will be improved and virus removal will be 99% with the new membrane filters. Dorman answered the question as to if the water will taste better after everything is done with a yes.
Funds for the improvements on the wastewater plant come from a 1 million dollar grant from EDA and a TWDB loan for $12.6 million which includes $1,890,000 debt forgiveness.
"There will probably be water outages as we do our work," Dorman said, "but we will keep them as brief as possible."
Dorman and Thurber stayed after the meeting to answer individual questions before they continued on with work on the system by opening bids on the replacement of the 18" waterline. Work on the project is projected to begin in the next few months.
by Denise Schoppe
Staff writer
The Marlin Democrat
July 13, 2005
Two engineers from KSA Engineers addressed the Marlin Rotary Club last week to present the organization with the plans for improving the city's current water system.
Robert L. Thurber and Stephen Dorman told the members that improvements made to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, Waste Distribution System and Water Treatment Plants have been planned out and that work is projected to begin in the coming months.
Decisions on what needed to be done to improve the system were based on a 2004 study of the current system as well as demands being placed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
"TCEQ sets rules and standards that must be followed," Dorman said. "We will be focusing on getting the city into compliance with those standards."
One item being demanded by TCEQ is that the old trickling filter plant that Marlin used up to the early 90s be closed completely. Many of the structures from that plant remain today.
Improvements to the current Wastewater Treatment Plant include putting up new fences around the site, installing influent flow meters as required be TCEQ, installing new aerators and to clean sludge from the ponds at the plant to regain full capacity.
Funding for improvements to the wastewater treatment plant will come from a $250,000 grant from ORCA and from the $2,225,000 loans from Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).
Dorman then presented the Rotarians with plans for water distribution. He said the existing system has one high service pump station, two elevated storage tanks -- the Old Depot tank (200,000 gallons) and the Royal Street tank (800,000 gallons) -- and approximately 280,000 linear feet, or 53 miles, of water lines.
Improvements to the system will be to replaced existing 18" Reinforced Concrete Cylinder Pipe (RCCP) with new 18" PVC from the water treatment plant to FM 2308, create two pressure plants, install a new 500,000 gallon elevated water tank at old Tin Hat location, and replace 45,000 linear feet of water lines.
The water treatment plant's original plant was constructed in 1948.
"Today's plant has many deficiencies which include a need to improve treatment chemical storage and delivery, rehabilitate or replace filters, provide redundancy of critical components and improve the plant to current standards," Dorman said.
To do all that is needed, KSA will drudge the area next to the intake structure at the plant, repair clarifiers, modify chemical feed, replace pumps, replace filters, provide additional ground storage, construct new sludge processing units, provide emergency electric generators, rework the electrical system, install computer monitors and control instrumentation and construct a new office and lab.
"The waste water treatment plant is the most expensive part of the entire project," Dorman said.
Estimated cost of repairs and maintenance is $9,225,000.
One way KSA will improve wastewater cleaning is by use of ultra filtration membranes with provide a physical barrier to particles, whereas before there was the use of coal and sand to clean the water. Pore size in the filters is highly uniform which provides "absolute" removal of particles and microorganisms, Dorman said.
Turbidity, which refers to how clear the water is, will be improved and virus removal will be 99% with the new membrane filters. Dorman answered the question as to if the water will taste better after everything is done with a yes.
Funds for the improvements on the wastewater plant come from a 1 million dollar grant from EDA and a TWDB loan for $12.6 million which includes $1,890,000 debt forgiveness.
"There will probably be water outages as we do our work," Dorman said, "but we will keep them as brief as possible."
Dorman and Thurber stayed after the meeting to answer individual questions before they continued on with work on the system by opening bids on the replacement of the 18" waterline. Work on the project is projected to begin in the next few months.
