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Sewer-system upgrades to be costly for Burton
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - December 16, 2009)
Sewer-system upgrades to be costly for Burton
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Burton Village officials will have some tough decisions to make about upgrading the sewers system and treatment plant in the near future.
Burton Village Council heard Monday from Said Abouabdallah, director of water resources for the Cleveland firm Arcadis on nearly three years of studies performed on the village's sewer system.
The village is to get into greater detail on studies when the board of public affairs holds a work session on the issue. Curt Johnson, chairman of the board of public affairs, said he would like to hold that meeting before the end of the year with Mr. Abouadallah.
He said the village has an aging system that often sees the flow exceeding the capacity of its treatment plant. He concentrated on looking for solutions to infiltration and inflow into the system, as well as upgrades to the treatment plant.
Mr. Abouabdallah said evaluations of the system began in 2007, and flow monitoring completed in early 2008 show the infiltration and inflow is excessive.
He said inflow occurs usually during rain events when water rushes into the system and arrives at the treatment plant. Infiltration, he said, occurs when the water table rises and enters the system.
He said the village's treatment plant is rated to handle 270,000 gallons a day. During a dry period last year, the treatment plant was handling 230,000 gallons a day, while, during a rainstorm, the plant was handling 1.3 million gallons.
"Peak flow when it rains is when you have a problem," Mr. Abouabdallah said.
He said the village had the option of attempting to correct leaks in the system where water enters or building larger holding tanks which collect the excessive flows and hold them until treatment can be done.
He said the goal is to reduce the flow by 25 percent.
He said the village could have difficult time working on the system, because about two-thirds of it was built before the 1960s and much of it lies on private property.
The cost for either option, he said, would be comparable in cost, within a 10 percent difference.
As for the treatment plant, Mr. Abouabdallah said, the village is facing costs of between $6.6 million for a conventional system and $7 million for a system using special membranes. Those figures are based on 2008 numbers, he said.
He said the choice between the two systems depends on "what kind of treatment you're willing to accept."
He said Middlefield Village uses a conventional system while Geauga County's McFarland Creek plant uses the membrane system.
"Either option has been done," he said.
He said the new treatments can be phased in over time, although the conventional system lends itself better to phasing in.
Once a decision is made, he said, the system will take probably a little over two years to install.
Mr. Abouabdallah said the village has not been issued any violations, possibly because the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency understands the village is moving forward with studies to correct the problem. But, he said, the village will eventually see violations if no corrective actions are taken.
He said continuing to delay the improvements may also cost the village. He said improvements will only cost more in the future.
Mr. Abouabdallah the village can expect any new building constructed to last about 40 to 50 years. Equipment has a life of about 15 to 20 years.
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