Members of the Wrangell Assembly learned a new water treatment plant being sought after will be financially unfeasible for the foreseeable future, and are looking into other options.
Even before the water shortage problems of last summer due to its plant being unable to keep up with demand, the city was aware the facility could use replacement. After it was installed nearly two decades ago, the treatment plant's combination of roughing filters and slow sand filtration system turned out to be ill-suited to the sedimented water coming from Wrangell's two reservoirs. Public Works has made do since, doing what it could to keep things skimmed and water flowing from local taps.
In 2015 the Assembly awarded a $150,000 contract to CRW Engineering Group to go ahead with a pilot study, a sort of test plant better suited to raw water quality conditions. The recommended method used dissolved air flotation (DAF) to filter water instead, which essentially uses bubbles to draw sediment topside to be skimmed away. The package plant was set up last July, and testing went on through the rest of the summer.
The plant worked great, but city manager Jeff Jabusch explained a full-sized system would cost more than double what was first estimated. The results of the study were to be included in a prospective Department of Agriculture grant application to fund the plant, which also required a more intensive preliminary engineering report. This latter report found installing a DAF plant would cost about $13,000,000, rather than the expected $6,000,000.
“It was disappointing to us,” Jabusch said. Had they known the costs would be so high, he wondered whether the city might have opted for one of the other three filtration options CRW recommended for a test plant.
Even if a USDA loan were attainable to cover part of the project, he explained the amount would be well beyond the city's means. Instead, he recommended doing more to augment and restore the current system. The sand in the filtration units has never been properly cleaned or replaced since installation, due to costs.
One option would be to dredge the material out and run it through a wash process in sections, returning it to the system in turn. The second option would be to look into using a sand washer available at the gravel pit. Either option would have to be undertaken carefully, and preferably during a month of slower demand like March.
One pressing need now that the current plant needs to last a while longer is replacement of its second ozone generator, which is necessary to operations. The other was already replaced last year, and though a loan through a Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation program was previously approved for its installation, Wrangell opted to pay for it in cash.
As it was approved for the loan already, to help pay for both generators Assembly members passed a resolution Tuesday to accept it, in the amount of $322,650. The loan would be repaid in 15 years at a rate of 1.5 percent. Jabusch explained that could be paid off sooner.
“We plan to only borrow what is necessary to purchase and install the equipment, which is estimated at between $230,000 and $240,000,” he explained.
However, due to this and another loan being secured to replace failing water mains, the Assembly may be looking at rate increases of about five percent to start July 1, with another five-percent rise on July 1, 2018. The city estimates this might amount to a $2.04 increase per residential customer for the first year, or a two-year total of $4.18. The last such increase came in 2015.
“Another option we've talked about is metering residential water,” Jabusch noted, which tends to lower usage.
In the hunt to replace Jabusch, who is retiring at the end of March, the search has narrowed to two candidates. One candidate, Michael Cleghorn of Texas, withdrew his name after receiving another job offer. Candidates Ann Capela of Bethel and Bradley Hanson of Iowa are still under consideration, and will be brought down to meet with the Assembly in executive session on February 14. After that, the Assembly may have its selection by the time of its next meeting, rescheduled for February 15.
One final vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission was filled, after resident Robbie Austin posted a letter of interest for the position. Two further vacancies remain on civic boards, both on the Economic Development Committee.
Assembly members also approved sale of its belt freezer facility to Trident Seafoods, for the appraised value of $950,000. The transaction was previously signed off on by the Planning and Zoning and Port commission and the Economic Development Committee. The details will go to the processor's attorney for review before finalization.
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