Monday night, the Paris City Council heard a presentation on the state of the current wastewater treatment plant infrastructure and possible remedies.
James Hinkle, Superintendent of Wastewater Treatment for the City of Paris, addressed the council, “In my honest opinion, within the next ten years or so, there will be a catastrophic failure of a lot of the structures at the plant.”
He pointed out specific examples of inch long cracks in certain walls of the facility.
Council Member Hashmi asked Hinkle about possible additional facilities and their location.
Hinkle replied, “I think we need one centralized plant, the reason being you would have additional costs with two plants. It would be cheaper for the city to build on the current location. It would be more beneficial to have it closer to town, but where it is now, you don’t have any odor complaints. If you move it closer to town, it is a wastewater treatment plant, and the sewer water coming from town does stink.”
Council Member Edwin Pickle asked, “What’s the maximum number of gallons of water that we’ve handled?”
Hinkle said, “Our maximum flow is 7.25 million average. We can handle up to 10 million if we can get it to the plant. That’s the problem.”
Pickle asked, “What have we handled in the past?”
Hinkle said, “The highest flow I’ve ever seen at the plant in the 23 years I’ve been there has been 12 million. That was a surge flow. That was not a total flow.”
Pickle asked, “In the past five years where’s our usage gone?”
Hinkle answered, “It’s stayed the same. It varies during the seasonal weather. When it rains, the flow skyrockets.”
Mayor Pro-Tem Dr. Richard Grossnickle thanked Mr. Hinkle for speaking and for his service.
A representative from Garver USA spoke to the council about possible developmental plans for the city’s wastewater treatment. The plans include improvements made within the existing footprint of the existing plant.
Garver USA Vice President and representative Jeff Sober began, “Thank you for the opportunity to present the Garver team’s general qualifications and approach to completing wastewater treatment plant projects. Our team has been selected by your staff to help you as your consultant. Today we’re going to be giving you an overview of our general approach to taking your plant and rehabilitating it to meet the future needs of the city of Paris.”
Sober went on to articulate specific goals that are important to the city, “First and foremost, we want to give you a tried and true reliable process. We want to make sure that we utilize existing infrastructure as much as possible. We want to plan for future regulatory requirements. We’d also like to work within the existing footprint. We want to build what’s needed, when needed. We’ve developed a three phase approach to reduce spending on this project.
Phase one is to address immediate needs of the facility, the condition and rehabilitation needs. Phase two, we’d be able to phase in the new regulations, and phase three, we’d be potentially expanding the facility if necessary.”
Sober showed several slides with images of possible renovations and additions.
Mayor Pro-Tem Grossnickle pointed out that there is currently no contract with Garver USA.