Wastewater treatment facility update

NEW LONDON – The city of New London continues to discuss possible upgrades to its wastewater treatment facility, which must be upgraded by July 1, 2029 to meet new phosphorus limits.
Some of the upgrade options, as well as rate increases were discussed at the Sept. 3 New London Board of Public Works meeting.
Mike Gerbitz, senior process engineer, for Donohue & Associates, Inc., the consulting company that the city of New London hired to help devise a plan for the city’s wastewater treatment facility told the board that the facility cannot currently meet the new phosphorus limits.
It was the second time Gerbitz spoke to the board, as he also discussed the matter with the board at its June 2 meeting.
Gerbitz reminded the committee that the city is “on the clock” to meet the new limits.

If New London does not meet its compliance schedule, Gerbitz said the city could lose access to low-cost financing options to meet the limits.
Gerbitz said the new limits are a result of the EPA approving a total maximum daily load for the Upper Fox Wolf River Basin. This looks at the total pounds of different pollutants that are released in the water body.
A number of Wisconsin communities are in the process of updating their wastewater facilities to meet the new limits, Gerbitz said, adding that Wisconsin has some of the stringent limits in the country.
“This isn’t a unique situation for New London by any means,” Gerbitz said.
Since updating the wastewater treatment facility is a long-term investment, Gerbitz said the city would be wise to make sure every dollar invested today is well invested for the future.
“You have aging infrastructure, you have aging equipment and you own all the issues associated with that,” Gerbitz said. “And that facility is tired and it is time to make some significant upgrades there to get through the next generation.”
He added that the New London Wastewater Treatment Facility is one of the most complicated facilities in the state of Wisconsin.

Options
When presenting the first option available to the city to meet the limits for phosphorus, Gerbitz said the phosphorus would be removed from water emissions by adding it to the sludge generated by the wastewater treatment facility.
Since farmers use the sludge on their fields for fertilizer. Ald. David Dorsey said it doesnot make sense to remove the phosphorus from the water emissions and put it in the sludge so the phosphorus can run off farm fields into rivers.

“I just want the citizens to understand it’s the state forcing us to spend all this money to move the phosphorus from coming out here and being discharged here instead,” Dorsey said. “I just want to make sure they know that.”
It was pointed out that there are regulations regarding what type of fields sludge can be used on.
When considering all the options for the city, Gerbitz said building a new wastewater treatment facility at a different site was researched. But it was found to add $20 million to the project costs because it would require a new pump station being built, as well as new a pipeline.
A second option would have the wastewater treatment plant producing liquid waste similar to what it is currently producing, but at half the volume. There would continue to be limitations as to where the material from the facility could be hauled.
“When you make a Class B material you are vulnerable to regulation changes,” Gerbitz said. “…You’re also vulnerable to bad press.”
The third option would include the addition of a dryer at the facility, which would have the wastewater treatment facility producing Class A biosolids, Gerbitz said. Class A biosolids are unregulated.
“People could come to your facility and take it,” Gerbitz said.
The final waste product would be dry.
Gerbitz said in the last 10 years a lot of communities in Wisconsin have added dryers to their wastewater treatment facilities.

Funding

Most communities in the state use the Wisconsin Clean Water Fund to fund wastewater treatment facility upgrade projects, Gerbitz said. This is a state revolving fund program managed by the Wisconsin DNR. The fund is federally subsidized.
A loan through the Wisconsin Clean Water Fund has a maximum term of 30 years. Interest rates are also based on the medium household income of the community.
Gerbitz said based on New London’s medium household income and the size of the community, the DNR will forgive $1 million of the cost of this project to meet the phosphorus limit.
“It’s effectively a grant,” Gerbitz said.
Requirements of the Wisconsin Clean Water Fund is the contractor has to pay state wage rates, use American iron and steel, and the major components of the facility need to be built in the United States.
Another financing option would be Rural Development, Gerbitz said, which is another federally subsidized program.
A loan through Rural Development has a maximum term of 40 years. Interest rates are not as favorable as those through the Wisconsin Clean Water Fund.
Gerbitz said New London should not assume it will receive any grant funds through USDA.
Revenue bonds are another option for financing the wastewater treatment facility upgrades. Those would have a term of 20 years.

Sewer Rates

With both the Wisconsin Clean Water Fund and USDA, the first principal payment would not be due until the first May after major construction has been completed, Gerbitz said.
“What that means is you can continue to increase your (sewer) rates during construction,” Gerbitz said.
Rate increases that residents could expect would range between $9 and $17 per month depending on which upgrade option the city chooses, with the same increase amount occurring each year until 2030.
Ald. Mike Barrington asked how the rates for industries would be affected.
Gerbitz said industries would see the same rate increases.
Barrington asked if the rate increases on industries would create a situation where the city loses industries.
“You always hear that, that’s usually the first reaction from the industry themselves,” Gerbitz said. “But I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never seen an industry leave because of the wastewater rates.”
By choosing the upgrade option that includes a dryer, Ald. BaLynda Croy pointed out that the sewer rates may not have to increase as much because the dryer would allow the facility to generate some revenue. It was also pointed out that the city would not have to pay to get rid of its liquid sludge.
Committee Chairman John Hass said the city isnot trying to hide anything.
“It’s not money we could have saved to have this in the bank to do a project like this,” Hass said.
Gerbitz said he has been helping communities with similar project for a long time.
“No one’s paid for a project like this out of cash reserves,” Gerbitz said.