For plant operator Jesse Thompson, the renovations and remodeling will be a blessing for the town.
The plant has been in disrepair until the beginning of this year, being fined as much as $5,000 a day by the state. The town hired Thompson, who was the original plant operator when it first opened in 1985, to get the plant back under control. The current plant is now exceeding state requirements.
The town was awarded over $1 million in a rural development grant for upgrades to the plant. Town recorder Linda Moyers said that a definite date has not been set yet because the town still has a couple of steps to complete before the money can be mobilized. However, all the money is in place.
The final architecture plans have been approved and are now in place. Thompson keeps a copy of these plans at the treatment plant and says he is looking forward to seeing the plant remodeled.
"This is going to be an awesome plant and I can't wait to be the one to actually start it and see how good the water turns out on the other side," said Thompson, as he looked over the plans last week.
Thompson said when most people think of sewer plants, they don't understand what goes behind running the facility. He said the current plant requires constant monitoring and observations, testing the waters and chemicals often.
"That's what a whole wastewater treatment plant is - to keep bacteria happy and the balance of food and micro organisms," said Thompson. "To have that perfect balance, and then, you have perfect water."
The new plant design features reorganizing the tanks, moving the clarifier thanks to the middle instead of their present location on the sides. The plant's back up generator will be replaced to accommodate more power that the plant will have, and, the generator will run on diesel fuel instead of propane.
New pumping stations will also be installed, but Thompson says, instead of digging up the old pump stations and costing more money, he suggested that the town leave those alone and install valves to the new ones as backups.
"If something happens and the new pump stations go offline, then, I'll have backups and the plant can still run," he said.
A 30-by-50 foot building will be constructed that will house a unit called a drain maid, which holds solids (bacteria).
"What happens is you get too much bacteria in here and what you have to do is find ways to rid the bacteria to equalize the amount of food (that feeds on bacteria) coming in. In the new design, the bacteria will go into containers that have bags in them and the bacteria will stay in the bag and the water will drain out."
Thompson said the bags can be stacked on site for up to two years.
Another new addition that will be added is a stair step waterfall at the creek where the water drains out.
"The water that goes out into that creek is crystal clear and clean. It has been treated and monitored before being released and I monitor everything and test it as it comes in and when it leaves the plant," he said.
The new design calls for three new blowers, which circulate air in the tanks. The plant's current blowers are located outside the plant and are in the weather. The new ones will be located inside the building.
Once these renovations are complete, the plant will go from 100,000-gallon compacity a day to 300,000-gallon compacity a day. Thompson said the town could actually connect with Harrogate because the lines are already in place, once the plant finishes their upgrades.
The collection system, or the piping that brings the wastewater into the plant, is currently in bad shape, according to Thompson. He said the town has received a grant to repair the collection system.
"The piping needs to be fixed before the work on the plant starts," said Thompson. "Because half of the plant will have to be shut down for construction."
Thompson said when the construction is complete, the new plant will save the town money. He said he plans to monitor the plant with constant testing for the first few weeks, even though the new design will not require as much manual testing and labor as it does now.
"I want to make sure everything is running and going like it should be," he said.
Construction and remodeling of the plant could start before the end of the year.
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