It’s back to original plans with Dansville’s wastewater treatment plant after a decision by the Board of Trustees this week. Hearing an alternative from a second engineer and a rebuttal from the first engineering firm, trustees voted 3-2 to have MRB Group continue design work on the multi-millon dollar plant renovation.
The two dissenting votes were Trustees Pat Kreiley and Jay Griffith. Both expressed unease with a project of this scale moving forward so quickly.
“We don’t have the luxury of knowing what happened from day one,” Griffith said, referring to having two trustees and a mayor who took office in April.
Kreiley said her vote against moving forward was out of caution.
The favorable vote from Trustee Dick Whitenack is a shift from previous positions. In February, Whitenack had voted against the bond to fund improvements at the plant. At that time, he cited the cost — then $19 million, now reduced some $5 million.
Prior to voting Tuesday night, the board heard a presentation from Bill Davis, senior civil engineer at MRB Group. In late July, trustees heard from engineering firm Clark Patterson Lee a proposal to rehabilitate the existing plant. Davis provided a rebuttal to several claims within the Clark Patterson Lee report.
The key differences between plans by the two engineering firms are cost, process to treat wastewater and process for handling sludge afterward. Clark Patterson Lee also suggested four phases for upgrading the plant.
MRB Group had originally proposed a price tag of $19.1 million. That figure has since been revised and sits between $14 million and $15 million.
Clark Patterson Lee gave a proposal with an $11 million price tag.
Dansville’s plant uses a conventional activated sludge system, in which wastewater is brought into the plant and then taken through several stages of equalization, aeration and clarification, each at a different location. MRB Group has previously noted that the current plant design requires two pump stations and the equipment used at the current plant is aging.
Clark Patterson Lee keeps the existing process and rehabilitates or replaces aging components. Davis was critical of that approach, questioning whether the equipment was adequate.
“Your aerobic digesters cut it very close with your existing flow,” Davis said. He noted that there are already some problems with the digesters. Average monthly flows have been steadily rising since at least 2007 and are projected to continue rising.
Plans for MRB Group have long included a sequencing batch reactor. An SBR system, Davis explained can be built around the existing plant, meaning the current plant would continue to operate during construction.
It’s back to original plans with Dansville’s wastewater treatment plant after a decision by the Board of Trustees this week. Hearing an alternative from a second engineer and a rebuttal from the first engineering firm, trustees voted 3-2 to have MRB Group continue design work on the multi-millon dollar plant renovation.
The two dissenting votes were Trustees Pat Kreiley and Jay Griffith. Both expressed unease with a project of this scale moving forward so quickly.
“We don’t have the luxury of knowing what happened from day one,” Griffith said, referring to having two trustees and a mayor who took office in April.
Kreiley said her vote against moving forward was out of caution.
The favorable vote from Trustee Dick Whitenack is a shift from previous positions. In February, Whitenack had voted against the bond to fund improvements at the plant. At that time, he cited the cost — then $19 million, now reduced some $5 million.
Prior to voting Tuesday night, the board heard a presentation from Bill Davis, senior civil engineer at MRB Group. In late July, trustees heard from engineering firm Clark Patterson Lee a proposal to rehabilitate the existing plant. Davis provided a rebuttal to several claims within the Clark Patterson Lee report.
The key differences between plans by the two engineering firms are cost, process to treat wastewater and process for handling sludge afterward. Clark Patterson Lee also suggested four phases for upgrading the plant.
MRB Group had originally proposed a price tag of $19.1 million. That figure has since been revised and sits between $14 million and $15 million.
Clark Patterson Lee gave a proposal with an $11 million price tag.
Dansville’s plant uses a conventional activated sludge system, in which wastewater is brought into the plant and then taken through several stages of equalization, aeration and clarification, each at a different location. MRB Group has previously noted that the current plant design requires two pump stations and the equipment used at the current plant is aging.
Clark Patterson Lee keeps the existing process and rehabilitates or replaces aging components. Davis was critical of that approach, questioning whether the equipment was adequate.
“Your aerobic digesters cut it very close with your existing flow,” Davis said. He noted that there are already some problems with the digesters. Average monthly flows have been steadily rising since at least 2007 and are projected to continue rising.
Plans for MRB Group have long included a sequencing batch reactor. An SBR system, Davis explained can be built around the existing plant, meaning the current plant would continue to operate during construction.
“When we provided our first report, it had a rehab option,” Davis said. He added that the decision to change to an SBR process was left solely up to the board at that time and that MRB Group’s report made no recommendation.
Clark Patterson Lee’s report suggested the use of reed beds for handling sludge.
Davis said reed bed requirements, sizing and costs weren’t adequately considered in the report.
“From our perspective, the biggest problem you have down there isn’t your process, it’s your solids train,” Davis said.
“I don’t think anyone here is a fan of reed beds,” Griffith said.
The remainder of the board concurred. Davis explained that the next best option is to reduce water content in sludge before it is hauled.
Currently the village pays for sludge to be hauled to Bath, where it is processed. MRB Group suggested composting as the best option, which would keep sludge on site, where it would be processed to be used as compost for non-food uses.
Both plans allow for adding UV disinfection later, currently not required by DEC.
Davis said solids handling should not wait, since it is the biggest potential area to reduce both operational costs and odor.
