County to mark treatment plant

Johnson Creek is milestone

On Sept. 27, 2011, U. S. Sen. Roger Wicker, RMiss., and U.S. Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Miss., were among the speakers at the groundbreaking of what they hailed as a major infrastructure advance for western DeSoto County and the region — the $13.8 million Johnson Creek Waste Water Treatment Facility in Walls.

On Sept. 5, just under two years later, the lawmakers will be back as special guests of the DeSoto Regional Utility Authority to officially welcome the already-operational plant at a long-awaited ribboncutting at 10 a.m. The facility is on a 40-acre tract at 4147 U.S. 61 N., south of Church Road.

“It’s the next step in forming the backbone of our treatment system and sets the stage for further growth and environmental

It’s the next step in forming the backbone of our treatment system and sets the stage for further growth and environmental benefit in the county.” B.J. Page, president of the utility

authority board

benefit in the county,” said B.J. Page, president of the utility authority board.

The ceremony was an-

nounced at this week’s meeting.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said consulting engineer Tracy Huffman of the Waggoner firm in Hernando. “We have to have plants in the east and the west, to allow for growing needs and for a system with a regional concept. And this plant is a testament to all the local, state and federal partners coming together. They can be proud.”

The Johnson Creek plant pairs with the east’s major facility, Short Fork, where a $10 million expansion is planned to double its treatment-flow capacity from 4 million gallons a day to 8 million in the populous region.

Expected to start taking flow by spring 2013, Johnson Creek met that deadline. A project of Max Foote Construction, a Mandeville, La.-based contractor that specializes in water and wastewater treatment plants, the plant is designed for up to 2 million gallons a day — and more later. Severn Trent’s Jason Moss is plant operations chief.

Johnson Creek discharges cleaned- up, treated water into the same-named waterway and consolidates the pro- cess from four outdated, problem-plagued facilities: the Walls Lagoon, the Twin Lakes and Lake Forest sites and the Western Interim Facility.

“They were already exceeding capacity” before they went offline, Page said.

Also with the new plant, four stream discharges are trimmed to one in a significant easing of environmental impact. Utility officials also note the economic promise.

“As one developer told me, growth follows the sewer lines,” said authority executive director Bill Austin. “This plant marks a real milestone. Now it’s a matter of connecting the dots to improve and expand service.”

The plant’s original contract amount was $ 17,842,000, but subsequent change orders trimmed it to a f inal $13,733,758, according to a contract summary.

In another nod to the future, the authority board approved — and sent on for reaffirmation by the Environmental Protection Agency — an updated facilities plan that forecasts needs based on population projections to 2035. Prepared by the EAI/ WEI engineering firm, the 113-page document breaks recommendations down to 5-year, 10-year and 20-year plans.

“That makes for bitesize, doable pieces,” Huffman said.

The short-term plan calls for the Short Fork plant expansion and relocating discharge to the Coldwater River, converting the offline Ross Road sludge lagoons to an equalization basin, and for a new Nolehole interceptor among transmission improvements. Probable costs are placed at about $31.5 million.

At this week’s meeting, Bob Pitts, consulting engineer with the Pickering firm, outlined an estimated $650,000 project to alleviate Camp Creek pump sta- tion capacity problems; it’s viewed as the first phase of the Nolehole improvement.

“We’ll be requesting approval at next month’s meeting to put the project out for bids, and we hope to start construction by the end of the year,” Pitts said.

The 10-year plan, pegged at $99.5 million in today’s dollars, includes treatment upgrades for the Johnson Creek plant and relocation of discharge to the Mississippi River, along with more transmission lines to serve the expected high-growth Interstate 69/269 interchanges. The 20-year vision, expected to cost about $60 million, includes hiking the Short Fork plant’s capacity to 12 million gallons a day and eliminating the authority-owned Braybourne treatment plant.

“It’s pretty comprehensive,” said authority board member Donnie Chambliss. “It’s the bible that will help guide planning.”