Authority reviews plans for treatment plant
BROWNSVILLE – The members of the Brownsville Municipal Authority on Wednesday reviewed plans for the new sewage treatment plant being designed by Widmer Engineering. Project engineer John Tomaro and design engineer Marie Hartman assured the authority members that they are working to keep both the engineering and eventual operating costs for the plant as low as possible.
“PENNVEST allows engineers and architects up to 15 percent (of the project cost) for the design and inspection. We’re nowhere near that,” Tomaro said.
Hartman said Widmer’s agreement with Fayette Engineering, the authority’s regular engineering firm, calls for a total of $428,000 in engineering fees for the design and construction phases, including daily inspections during construction. That’s about 10 percent of the estimated $4.3 million in construction costs to build a new plant outside of the flood plain as required by the state Department of Environmental Resources.
“We will not go over that number. You’re only paying for what we’re giving you. If by chance, we do go over it, that’s our loss for having underestimated the job,” Hartman said.
To date, the firm has billed the authority $91,000.
Tomaro said the firm has acted on suggestions made by the authority, changing a brick fa?ade to a less expensive building material, eliminating a garage bay and enlarging the public meeting room.
In all, the changes resulted in savings of $35,000 to $40,000 in construction expenses, Tomaro said.
Tomaro said the type of system being installed should reduce the electric and water bills at the plant, as well as reducing the volume of the sludge to be disposed of. Tomaro said the sequential batch reactor plant will have a variable speed aeration system, meaning much lower energy consumption than the current plant.
In addition, the sludge will be exposed to ultraviolet light to sanitize it instead of using a chlorination system.
Tomaro said the ultraviolet system is more expensive to install initially, but does not involve the on-going expense or potential hazard of working with chlorine.
Plant manager James Knisley said additional testing at the current plant being required by the DEP until a new plant is constructed will cost the authority about $140 a week, though he’s not certain how it will be carried out.
As written, the consent order calls for 24-hour composite sampling seven days a week.
Knisley said the plant isn’t staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so the composite sampling can’t be done.
The matter is still being reviewed with the DEP.