The Pierre City Commission has taken action to move the wastewater treatment plant upgrade forward.
Last night (Feb. 23), the commission approved the request to bid the project to modernize the plant by replacing equipment, decommissioning old processes and increasing the overall efficiency and resilience of the treatment system.
City Utility Director Brad Palmer says wastewater treatment processes have evolved and become more efficient over the years. He says they have a number of structures at the site they’ll be able to decommission, demo or repurpose.
Palmer says the changes will impact how wastewater is treated from the time it’s received at the wastewater treatment plant in southeast Pierre until it is fully treated and discharged into the Missouri River. He says the changes include:
- a new pumping system to convey the wastewater through the plant,
- a new screening and grit removal system,
- new energy efficient blowers to supply oxygen to the microorganisms that reduce contaminants in the wastewater,
- a new discharge structure that provides flood protection
- and a new odor control process.
Palmer says that thanks to new energy efficient equipment, the plant will require less electricity to operate and the footprint of the plant will decrease.
The project, expected to be complete in 2022, is funded by a loan from the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and will be repaid by user rates.
The City of Pierre provides three primary utility services –electric, water, and wastewater. All three have either undergone or are in the process of undergoing major modernization. Just last year, the City finished an upgrade to the City’s electrical substations and distribution infrastructure; work has begun on the City’s drinking water treatment facility; and the wastewater treatment project will improve system reliability and efficiency.
Shown here is Pierre’s gravity-fed wastewater treatment plant. It receives 1.5 million gallons of wastewater each day through more than 60 miles of underground sanitary sewer line.
Image credit City of Pierre.
As illustrated here, increased efficiency means a number of processes and structures at Pierre’s Wastewater Treatment Plant will be decommissioned and demolished.
Image credit City of Pierre.
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