By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The City of Whitewater’s wastewater utility plant is expected to undergo an overhaul in the near future. But before plans proceed, the expertise of an outside engineering firm is being tapped to study the plant’s future needs.
The Common Council at its Nov. 19 meeting voted to award a $55,970 contract to engineering firm Donohue and Associates for the study.
Wastewater Superintendent Tim Reel said the future of the wastewater site is a high-priority item. The existing infrastructure at the plant has a 20-year lifespan, Reel said, and it was installed more than 30 years ago.
In other words, Reel said infrastructure is well beyond its normal life expectancy.
“We need to upgrade,” Reel said as he went before the council. “(The study) will help us plan for the next 20 years.”
The facility plan that is being drafted with assistance from Sheboygan-based Donohue and Associates is a requirement of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources before actual upgrades can take place.
The city interviewed four prospective engineering firms to conduct the study. An interview panel recommended Donohue based on the firm’s cost estimate, scope of the entire project and expertise.
As it creates a long-range plan for the city’s wastewater plant, Donohue staff will look at how Whitewater staff can address the service in a “progressive, economical and responsible manner,” according to company documents.
The review process will entail an analysis of current and future permit requirements, new and emerging technologies that have been implemented since the last plan and upgrades were implemented and what steps can be taken to reduce facility operating costs.
According to a timeline within company documents, Donohue’s study is expected to take about a year. The company will submit its plan to the state DNR by Dec. 31, 2014
