The city of Warrenton is soliciting bids for an expansion to its wastewater treatment plant.
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The city of Warrenton is soliciting bids for an expansion to its wastewater treatment plant.
The project would expand the plant’s capacity from 3.2 million gallons a day to four million gallons a day. It also includes upgrades to several other systems at the plant to increase efficiency.
“The biggest reason for that is obviously, Warrenton is growing, and we’re trying to stay ahead of the growth to not run out of sewer capacity,” said Director of Operations Jon Struckhoff.
The city will receive bids until Nov. 14 when they will be opened, and a bid will be awarded later this year.
The project is being paid for with funds from a $13-million bond issue approved by voters in April, 2023, along with $3.2 million in state funds from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Improvements made during the project will include replacing the plant’s grit chamber, the addition of two final clarifiers and converting from a wet sludge to a dry sludge facility. Funds from the bond issue will also be used to construct a new deep well and storage tank on the south side of town, according to Struckhoff.
Grit chambers in wastewater management allow for sediments, mostly sand, to settle out of the water before it is moved on to other stages in the process. The current grit chamber used at the facility is rated for 3.2 million gallons per day. According to Struckhoff the replacement will be rated for 12 million gallons per day, to prepare for the future.
The clarifiers are one of the final steps in the wastewater treatment process and are used to divide water from any remaining sludge before the process is completed. The addition of two new clarifiers will help streamline this process, according to Struckhoff.
Finally, the conversion to a dry sludge plant as opposed to the current wet sludge system will not directly increase the capacity of the plant, but it will increase the efficiency and decrease wear and tear on equipment, said Struckhoff.
Warrenton’s wastewater treatment plant land applies its sludge, and according to Struckhoff, land applying dry sludge is an easier process.
“It doesn’t directly affect the capacity of the plant like the other two upgrades are going to do, however, in the long run, it saves us time and money,” said Struckhoff.
The city hopes to break ground on the project in early 2025 with completion projected by the end of 2027.