Shelby prepares for costly wastewater treatment plant modifications
Some forthcoming Ohio Environmental Protection Agency operating requirements could mean the city of Shelby may need to spend up to $560,000 to modify its wastewater treatment plant, City Council’s Utilities and Streets Committee chairman reports.
“The wastewater treatment plant will need to control phosphorus discharges into the Black Fork River,” Councilman Nathan Martin said.
A phosphorus discharge optimization evaluation plan must be submitted to the Ohio EPA by Nov. 1, Martin said.
The plan would outline measures such as affluent data, possible source reduction, operational improvements, and facility modifications to optimize the reduction of phosphorus discharges, he detailed in his comments to City Council on May 15.
The plan seeks to reduce phosphorus discharges to one part per million or below, while the current phosphorus readings range between 0.4 to 1.6 parts per million.
Martin spoke of an engineering study to determine the necessary treatment to achieve the desired reduction.
“The Ohio EPA lab technician has assisted with the initial testing to determine what chemical treatment will be best to control phosphorus,” Martin said.
“The bottom line is it’s going to be a modification of the plant that will be necessary,” he added.
The city is exploring funding sources and complying with EPA laws to address this environmental concern.
The Shelby wastewater treatment plant processes about 1.9 million gallons of wastewater per day with an annual volume of 800 million gallons, the city’s website details. Only two chemicals are used in the process, it shows. “Chlorine gas kills a disease-causing bacteria, and sodium bisulfate is used to remove all chlorine before the final product is released to the Black Fork
River. In many ways, the treated water is cleaner and healthier than what flows in the river today,” the summary states.
Martin detailed that the estimated cost for the modifications was around $560,000.
“Our hopes are it’d be much lower than that. That is what it is,” he said.
Martin’s information is based on a report and briefing provided by municipal utilities director/deputy public service director John Ensman and earlier shared with the Utilities and Streets Committee.
In other business, new developments are reported across a range of other committee topics, including upcoming legislation on water tap fees, citywide cleanup days, and the Brightspeed fiber-to-building structure project.
When it comes to the adjustment of water tap fees, Martin mentioned that recent increases in supply and material costs have surpassed the current amount charged to recover expenses for making a water tap for a new water service line.
The city is looking to amend its Chapter 1040 to reflect these changes and account for the increased costs. Additionally, annual adjustments based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) are being proposed for both water taps and sewer lateral taps.
“The current all-in cost to make a water tap is approximately $3,200. The current recovery for a water tap is around $2,100,” Martin said.
Regarding community events, Councilman Martin announced the upcoming city wide cleanup days scheduled for June 8 (8 a.m.-5 p.m.), June 9 (8 a.m.-5 p.m.) to June 10 (8 a.m.-2 p.m.) through a drop-off site in the empty parking lot at the south end of High School Avenue near the fire department and police department.
“It is always a good event, and we get a lot of participation,” Martin said.
He encouraged participation.
“It is that time of the year again. We’re going to show