|
|
|
Boonville —
The city will use a preliminary engineering report to determine whether it is more efficient to construct a pipeline and discharge wastewater in the Missouri River or to invest additional money in treatment and continue discharging into the Lily Branch Stream.
Either way, the wastewater eventually flows to the Missouri River, but state and federal regulations differ for water directly discharged into that waterway, in which the wastewater represents a minute fraction, versus if it first passes through the Lily Branch Stream, a narrower body, where chemicals contained in the city's water have a larger impact.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, often motivated by Environmental Protection Agency regulations, will impose more stringent standards for acceptable levels of metals, such as copper, and nutrients, such as phosphates and nitrates. The city plans to modify its wastewater treatment plant to meet the standards but the extent of the project will not be determined until MECO Engineering completes the preliminary report, which is expected in April 2012.
At a meeting Monday, city officials reviewed plans to invest more than $16 million on the wastewater system over the next decade. The city's infrastructure is already strained by inflow and infiltration of stormwater, increasing the amount of liquid the treatment plant must process, and will become increasingly burdened by residential and commercial growth.
MECO Engineering vice president Scott Vogler said historical growth projections indicate the city will reach its wastewater capacity by 2020. The city is already at the capacity rating approved by the state but has applied for a permit modification that would allow the plant to treat greater amounts of water.
"Since we are already at our rated capacity, DNR can stop issuing construction permits for sewer line extensions," Vogler said. Extensions are built to reach new development within the city.
State and federal agencies impose standards on contaminants to preserve freshwater habitats. In the Missouri River, for example, there is an effort to protect freshwater mussels. The US Fish and Wildlife Service reports 70 percent of freshwater mussels in the United States are extinct, endangered or in need of special protection.
City officials and MECO engineers anticipate the state imposing stricter ammonia standards to protect the mussels and other ecology.
"Our plant simply is incapable of removing ammonia, thus we are out of compliance," City Administrator Irl Tessendorf wrote in a memo.
The city would spend an estimated $2 to $3 million to build the pipeline to the Missouri River. If officials opts not to build the pipeline, that money would go towards rehab of the wastewater treatment plant or construction of a new plant, which is expected in 2021.
The city will use a preliminary engineering report to determine whether it is more efficient to construct a pipeline and discharge wastewater in the Missouri River or to invest additional money in treatment and continue discharging into the Lily Branch Stream.
Either way, the wastewater eventually flows to the Missouri River, but state and federal regulations differ for water directly discharged into that waterway, in which the wastewater represents a minute fraction, versus if it first passes through the Lily Branch Stream, a narrower body, where chemicals contained in the city's water have a larger impact.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, often motivated by Environmental Protection Agency regulations, will impose more stringent standards for acceptable levels of metals, such as copper, and nutrients, such as phosphates and nitrates. The city plans to modify its wastewater treatment plant to meet the standards but the extent of the project will not be determined until MECO Engineering completes the preliminary report, which is expected in April 2012.
At a meeting Monday, city officials reviewed plans to invest more than $16 million on the wastewater system over the next decade. The city's infrastructure is already strained by inflow and infiltration of stormwater, increasing the amount of liquid the treatment plant must process, and will become increasingly burdened by residential and commercial growth.
MECO Engineering vice president Scott Vogler said historical growth projections indicate the city will reach its wastewater capacity by 2020. The city is already at the capacity rating approved by the state but has applied for a permit modification that would allow the plant to treat greater amounts of water.
"Since we are already at our rated capacity, DNR can stop issuing construction permits for sewer line extensions," Vogler said. Extensions are built to reach new development within the city.
State and federal agencies impose standards on contaminants to preserve freshwater habitats. In the Missouri River, for example, there is an effort to protect freshwater mussels. The US Fish and Wildlife Service reports 70 percent of freshwater mussels in the United States are extinct, endangered or in need of special protection.
City officials and MECO engineers anticipate the state imposing stricter ammonia standards to protect the mussels and other ecology.
"Our plant simply is incapable of removing ammonia, thus we are out of compliance," City Administrator Irl Tessendorf wrote in a memo.
The city would spend an estimated $2 to $3 million to build the pipeline to the Missouri River. If officials opts not to build the pipeline, that money would go towards rehab of the wastewater treatment plant or construction of a new plant, which is expected in 2021.
