Wastewater facility nearing completion

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MARQUETTE - The nearly $15 million Marquette Area Wastewater Treatment Facility improvement project will be completed in less than a month.

Curt Goodman, water/wastewater superintendent, said the 1-year project will be "substantially completed" on Oct. 27.

"All the trades and contractors we have worked with have been excellent," Goodman said during a recent tour of the nearly complete facility.

Tom Asmus, operations supervisor at the facility, said one of the challenges during the past year was operating the facility at limited capacity around the clock while new systems were being integrated.

"It's been a day-to-day challenge," he said. "But we're going to have better treatment and more control over the process."

The facility was constructed in 1977 and last upgraded in 1980 to treat a flow of 6.2 million gallons of wastewater a day.

Goodman said one of the reasons for the upgrade was the plant was not meeting water quality standards for the water it released back into the Carp River. Specifically, the water was high in ammonia.

With the facility's old system, wastewater was treated with the help of rotating biological contractors - spinning, paddle-wheel-like structures. Biological growth on the contractors - including algae, bacteria, protozoa and other organisms - removed suspended matter from the wastewater.

However, the RBCs were ineffective in removing ammonia, especially in the winter, Asmus said. In the colder months of the year, the bacteria on the RBCs was not as active and there was not enough of it to sufficiently control ammonia levels.

"We couldn't adjust the amount of biology for treatment with the RBCs," Asmus said.

He added the solution was to replace the RBC process with activated sludge aeration tanks, where bacteria floats in the water as opposed to staying fixed on a solid object.

With the aeration tanks, the facility's staff can't control the temperature but can control the level of biological matter released into the water, Asmus said, maintaining quality water standards throughout the year.

Additional upgrades to the facility include a new administration area, new HVAC and electrical equipment and a more automated, computer-based approach to controlling the treatment process.

Goodman said removing the RBCs, which were indoors, freed up a lot of space that can now be reused to house the new equipment and administration offices, thus saving money.

The project has had a number of change orders, adding $1.3 million to the original contract amount of $13.5 million.

Of the change orders, Goodman said about $997,703 worth was expected changes listed as alternates in the original bid document.

The cost of the project is being covered by the state's Revolving Loan Fund and will be paid back by 20-year bonds by residents of Marquette, Marquette Township and Chocolay Township who use the facility.