MONROE - All A's, except for one C and an F. Still, you could say it made the honor roll.
The City of Monroe received its wastewater treatment facility's Compliance Maintenance Annual Report (CMAR) grade May 13.
The wastewater treatment plant is in full compliance in 8 out of 10 parameters set by the state Department of Natural Resources.
The plant received A's (4.0) for influent loadings, four categories of effluent qualities, preventative maintenance staffing, operator certification and financial management.
Effluent qualities removal percentages are well within annual permit compliance.
Plant director Gerald Ellefson said that's not bad, given the facility is past its intended lifespan.
The facility was built in 1984 to handle the growth needs of the city for 10 years.
"Now, 24 years into that, our facility is all starting to be antiquated," Ellefson said. "It's reached its useful life."
A grade of C was received on the collection system.
Ellefson explained the grade was the result of a minor overflow - the result of a pipe breaking by accident when a contractor, working on the south retention pond, dug into the side of the sanitary sewer.
It took only a couple hours to repair, Ellefson said, but it had to be reported.
More effort is going into fixing the F grade in bio solids management.
The facility met the 90-day bio-solids storage capacity required in 1984, but today DNR codes require 180-day capacity.
Under the facility's DNR permit, the plant is not allowed to spread bio-solids on authorized fields between December and April because of the risk of run-off. During those months, the bio-solids have to be stored.
From the time farmers plant crops until harvest in early October, Ellefson said the plant has "nowhere to go." The bio-solids have to be stored on site.
"And we don't have the capacity," Ellefson said.
The facility needs an upgrade to get an A in bio-solids management.
So, the issue is being addressed in a facility planning study with Applied Technologies, Inc., a planning engineer firm.
Every aspect of the facility is being evaluated. The scope of the project includes the residential, commercial and large industrial loads and projected loads; every piece of the plant, equipment and land; estimated land needs, sewer rates, and construction costs.
The DNR requires wastewater needs of a community to be projected for the next 20-years growth period.
"The study will be finalized in the very near future, and presented to the board," Ellefson said.
Ellefson said the study and plans for a new facility will be taken through city committees and state departments, including South West Regional Planning Commission and DNR, several times.
The study is expected to be completed this summer, followed by a year for drafting engineering plans, and then after receiving bids for the project, two years for facilities construction, equipment installation and start-up sometime around July 2011.
Funds are set aside in an equipment replacement fund to cover all major capital equipment replacement as required under DNR revolving loan program, in a reserve account to cover next year's debt service, and in reserve to cover the daily operations and projected sewer replacement projects.
The City of Monroe received its wastewater treatment facility's Compliance Maintenance Annual Report (CMAR) grade May 13.
The wastewater treatment plant is in full compliance in 8 out of 10 parameters set by the state Department of Natural Resources.
The plant received A's (4.0) for influent loadings, four categories of effluent qualities, preventative maintenance staffing, operator certification and financial management.
Effluent qualities removal percentages are well within annual permit compliance.
Plant director Gerald Ellefson said that's not bad, given the facility is past its intended lifespan.
The facility was built in 1984 to handle the growth needs of the city for 10 years.
"Now, 24 years into that, our facility is all starting to be antiquated," Ellefson said. "It's reached its useful life."
A grade of C was received on the collection system.
Ellefson explained the grade was the result of a minor overflow - the result of a pipe breaking by accident when a contractor, working on the south retention pond, dug into the side of the sanitary sewer.
It took only a couple hours to repair, Ellefson said, but it had to be reported.
More effort is going into fixing the F grade in bio solids management.
The facility met the 90-day bio-solids storage capacity required in 1984, but today DNR codes require 180-day capacity.
Under the facility's DNR permit, the plant is not allowed to spread bio-solids on authorized fields between December and April because of the risk of run-off. During those months, the bio-solids have to be stored.
From the time farmers plant crops until harvest in early October, Ellefson said the plant has "nowhere to go." The bio-solids have to be stored on site.
"And we don't have the capacity," Ellefson said.
The facility needs an upgrade to get an A in bio-solids management.
So, the issue is being addressed in a facility planning study with Applied Technologies, Inc., a planning engineer firm.
Every aspect of the facility is being evaluated. The scope of the project includes the residential, commercial and large industrial loads and projected loads; every piece of the plant, equipment and land; estimated land needs, sewer rates, and construction costs.
The DNR requires wastewater needs of a community to be projected for the next 20-years growth period.
"The study will be finalized in the very near future, and presented to the board," Ellefson said.
Ellefson said the study and plans for a new facility will be taken through city committees and state departments, including South West Regional Planning Commission and DNR, several times.
The study is expected to be completed this summer, followed by a year for drafting engineering plans, and then after receiving bids for the project, two years for facilities construction, equipment installation and start-up sometime around July 2011.
Funds are set aside in an equipment replacement fund to cover all major capital equipment replacement as required under DNR revolving loan program, in a reserve account to cover next year's debt service, and in reserve to cover the daily operations and projected sewer replacement projects.