Tag Archives: wastewater plant

Osceola City Council Green Lights Contractor Bidding On New Wastewater Plant

OSCEOLA, Iowa /ScoopCloud/ -- The Osceola City Council has approved a schedule for taking bids on construction of the updated wastewater treatment facility. A recent pre-bid meeting brought in a handful of interest, but with design and budgeting finalized, the City is now able to open the call for bids to contractors interested in undertaking the project.

As far back as 2010, new EPA regulations as well as the continued growth of Osceola itself made the need for modernizing and updating the wastewater treatment unavoidable. According to the EPA, the acceptable limits of certain water constituents were lowered, making the current water treatment plant incapable of meet the new regulations. After many years of research, studies, plans and financial estimates, the project is ready to move forward by beginning the contractor selection process.

The projected timeline for the new wastewater treatment plant's construction is scheduled roughly to take two years, then the repurposing of the current facility is slated to take another two years. All of this will be done before the project is finalized or costs are realized. At this time, total projected costs for the new plant is estimated to be just under $30 million dollars.

A large portion of that cost - roughly 47% - is being covered through a partnership with Osceola's major industrial contributors. The balance will be financed through the State Revolving Fund Loan via the Iowa Finance Authority. Utility payers will pay their proportionate share through minor updates, not expected to exceed the standard cost of living rate over the next several years.

While the updated treatment facility will meet EPA demands, increase treatment capabilities, as well as offer expansion to support future economic growth, several other benefits to the updates will be realized. Significantly, the city of Osceola was recently awarded a $2.4 million grant designated to fund projects which improve the quality of stormwater runoff. Their eligibility to even apply was granted through the planned wastewater treatment plant updates and the use of a State Revolving Fund Loan. Using this grant, green practices such as pervious pavers and intakes designed to separate debris from stormwater runoff will be incorporated in the downtown area, further improving water quality throughout the community.

In addition to better wastewater management, compliance and water runoff quality, the City of Osceola has recently taken on ownership of the local golf course wherein new wastewater treatment facility will allow for additional money-saving strategies.

"No pun intended, but we're 'teeing ourselves up' to be able to take advantage of the new graywater system so we can irrigate the municipal golf course," said Ty Wheeler, Osceola City Administrator. "While it's not part of the current plans for the treatment plant, we are expecting future strategies like this to save the city money and facilitate business and community growth."

Once completed, the updated treatment plant will not only increase flow capacity of the wastewater that's taken in, but will also see increased capacity in the treatment of the constituents found within that flow. Updates will ensure the city's compliance with DNR and EPA regulations for several decades to come.

"We have big plans for future growth of the City," said Wheeler. "These updates open us to increasing new businesses opportunities and more residents far into the future."

If you are interested in submitting a bid for this project, please read specifications, deadlines, and all other pertinent information on the Osceola, Iowa Web site at: https://osceolaia.net/revised-notice-to-bidders-construction-of-wastewater-treatment-facility-improvements/

For more information about the wastewater treatment plant project, contact Ty Wheeler, Osceola City Administrator, via email, by calling 641-342-2377, or by visiting the administration offices at 115 N. Fillmore St., Osceola, IA 50213.

*IMAGE link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/19-1119s2p-osceola-ww-plant-expansion-300dpi.jpg
*Image caption: Expansion plans more than double the footprint of the current wastewater treatment plant.

News from City of Osceola Iowa

The Osceola City Council has approved a schedule for taking bids on construction of the updated wastewater treatment facility. A recent pre-bid meeting brought in a handful of interest, but with design and budgeting finalized, the City is now able to open the call for bids to contractors interested in undertaking the project.

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Planning for the Future, Osceola Wastewater Plant, City Move On Renovations

Ty Wheeler

OSCEOLA, Iowa, July 21, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- A city's growth and continued development relies on up-to-date, effective wastewater treatment and regulation, according to the City of Osceola, Iowa. This is always a priority for city administrators, managers, and their employees. How they manage the updates and costs associated with them is often a reflection of the care and commitment they have to residents and businesses.

The City of Osceola's current wastewater plant, designed and built in the late 1970's, was showing the wear of community growth and time by the early 2000's. So, in 2003, the plant underwent significant updates to sustain much needed services and help with the growth we see today. These updates addressed issues like corrosion of lines, concrete and infrastructure, volume limitations, as well as state and federal regulation updates.

"That's pretty standard," said Donnie McCuddin, Superintendent of the city's wastewater plant. "In an aggressive atmosphere like ours, a wastewater plant will need upgrades about every 15 to 20 years."

Now, 12 years after the 2003 renovations, the City and the Water Treatment Plant have embarked on plans for updating to meet the most recent demand and Osceola's future growth, as well as updated DNR standards required by the next certification deadline.

"Clean water regulations are being ramped up and they're affecting everyone's permits," McCuddin stated. "They're reviewing issues at big plants, handling of a million gallons of wastewater or more, first. Osceola is just below that benchmark, so we wanted to start now, making sure we were proactive in our management and upkeep of the plant."

An estimated $12 million will be needed to achieve the new wastewater plant renovation project. At an increase of 20 percent, this will affect rates for Osceola residents and businesses across the board. But, in an effort to lighten the burden, the city developed a plan to spread the rate increase out in 5 percent increments over the next few years. This computes to an annual increase of approximately 40 cents for average users. Businesses and residents alike will benefit from this slow distribution of costs over having the entire increase applied at once.

According to Ty Wheeler, Osceola's City Administrator, "While other similar-sized cities have applied the renovation update costs in a single rate increase - some as much as 65 percent - that just didn't bode well with us. So spreading the rate out over the next few years will make it easier on our residents as well as keep the cost of doing business in Osceola low."

DNR inspections are expected to take place at the Osceola plant within the next 12 to 18 months. If the necessary updates and repairs to the plant aren't made, Osceola could have their certification held or be fined until the issues are resolved.

"We've seen this on the horizon for almost five years, now. We can either plan now or pay later," said McCuddin. "They (DNR) appreciate the efforts that we are making. It happens everywhere. It's just something that needs to be done. And we wanted to do it right, for the plant, for our residents and businesses, as well as the future of Osceola."

Renovations to the wastewater plant will be complete, upgrading or completely replacing the current plant, by 2020. While some renovations have already started, the wastewater plant and the city will continue their sustainability and feasibility study, finishing by 2017. By 2019 a final wastewater plant design will be presented.

For more information on Osceola City, visit: http://www.osceolaia.govoffice2.com/ .

For more information on Clarke County, visit: http://ClarkeCountyLife.com/ .

* Photo (Web): Send2Press.com/mediaboom/15-0720-ty-wheeler-500x375.jpg

* Photo Caption: Ty Wheeler, Osceola City Administrator.

For more information, contact:
Ty Wheeler, Osceola City Administrator
15 North Fillmore, Osceola, IA 50213
Phone: (641) 342-2377
FAX: (641) 342-4005
e-mail: oscadmin@iowatelecom.com

Media Contact:
Andrew B. Clark
SPOKE Communications, LLC
5400 SE 30th Street, Des Moines, IA 50320
phone: 515-257-6584
e-mail: andrew@spokecom.com

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/planning-for-the-future-osceola-wastewater-plant-city-move-on-renovations-2015-0721-02.shtml.

NEWS SOURCE City of Osceola :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2015 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.