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$90M
sewer project studied
The Moorhead
Forum - 10/24
Fargo leaders are
considering a $90 million project that would expand the city’s
wastewater treatment facility and its services during the next 25
years.
The proposed
project is the largest in the city’s recent history. Its total
price tag is higher than the $46 million Fargodome constructed in
1992 and the
$62 million water
treatment plant built in 1994.
The difference,
however, is that those projects were done all at once and this
project would be spread out over a quarter decade, said Kent
Costin, city finance director.
One of the
primary purposes behind the project is to accommodate the
projected population growth and increase in wastewater flow in the
southwest part of town.
The city has been
concerned for years that the main sanitary collector is at or near
its original design capacity, said Bruce Grubb, Fargo public
utilities director.
The decision to
expand the current facility at 3400 Broadway and extend the
collection system to the southwest part of town was based on
findings in a Wastewater Management Concept Study released
Wednesday.
The
consultant’s report solidifies the city’s need to improve the
infrastructure and suggests using the current facility rather than
constructing a new satellite treatment center in southwest Fargo.
This also puts to
rest the widespread rumor a sewage lagoon is being constructed in
the most recent proposed annexation area south and west of Fargo.
The city is
hoping to obtain financing for the wastewater treatment project
through a state revolving loan fund, Costin said.
If the city’s
application is accepted, the money would be borrowed and repaid
with city wastewater utility revenue. Rates may need to be raised
as a result, Costin said.
Already this
year, wastewater rates in Fargo increased
65 cents, from
$12.40 a month to $13.05 to help pay for the future improvements.
The money would
not be borrowed from the revolving fund all at once, however,
since the various phases of this project would take place over a
25-year period.
The total cost of
expanding the current facility and its services is projected to be
about $80 million, with an additional $10 million being spent on
other projects, such as improvements to the northside sewer main
and lagoon.
The cost of
opening a satellite treatment facility would have been about $130
million.
The two options
were studied, but the cost of opening a new facility would be too
high, said consultant Craig Maetzold, a manager of Moorhead-based
Advanced Engineering.
“That was
discussed, but it’s been discounted as a viable option,”
Maetzold said. “And that’s heavily based on economic
factors.”
In addition, a
second water treatment facility would require a duplication of
some personnel and services, including security, Maetzold said.
“Overall,
it’s better to have one central location,” he said.
Work could begin
as early as next year on the first phase of the project.
Installing a new
major sewer line, possibly along the Interstate 29 corridor, would
be a top priority, Maetzold said. That alone would cost about $14
million.
Initially, the
line would be used to bring wastewater from Lift Station 25 to the
treatment facility. As development progresses south of Fargo, it
would be extended.
In the next 25
years, the population of Fargo is expected to increase from 94,150
to 146,324.
Addressing the
wastewater treatment system is necessary now to accommodate those
numbers, Grubb said.
The city has one
treatment facility and two major sewer lines – one serving the
south and west areas and another serving the central and northeast
areas.
The system is
operating at about 80 percent to 85 percent of the design
capacity.
Details still
need to be considered for the project, including a closer look at
how it will be paid for and where a major sewer line will be
placed, Maetzold said.
The project also
will need to earn the approval of the Fargo City Commission before
work can begin.
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