With construction well underway this fall, New York Mills can expect to see the new wastewater treatment facility finished this time next year.
Construction is off to a good start. Here's what is going on at the site just west of town. Work will be done before the impending ground freeze. Contractors are installing 3,300 feet of forcemain from the existing main wastewater pumping station on Polaris Parkway to the aeration pond facility. The forcemain is 10-inch PVC and the final connection to the pumping station will be made next year. In order to install the forcemain workers cleared trees, put in sand points for dewatering, then backfilled along the line which runs south of 383rd Street and west to where the new ponds will be constructed. That work is finished.
The overall project cost is $4.23 million, which includes construction costs, land purchases, permits and engineers fees. Randy Kramer Excavating of Watkins, Minn. is the contractor.
Jon Pratt of Ulteig Engineers, which is overseeing the project, is impressed with the excavating company and how much work has been completed this fall.
"This construction company has been top-notch and extremely professional," Pratt said. " They've made a ton of progress this fall and have been a treat to work with."
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At the location where the new two cell primary aeration pond will be workers have stripped the top soil, started dike construction and dumped fill for the blower, which pumps air and introduces oxygen to the ponds in order to help with the biological breakdown.
The aeration pond will be constructed on the existing temporary irrigation facility and an adjoining 10-acre parcel purchased by the city. The aeration pond average water storage area is 12.6 acres and consists of a 6.0-acre and 6.6-acre cell. The normal high water depth of the aeration ponds is 15 feet. Pond depth is 18 feet. The two cell aerated pond system will provide primary treatment. The aeration system will include three blowers housed in a building. These blowers will essentially "aerate" the pond cells and aid in eliminating an excessive odars. The pond will be lined with a PVC liner which is covered with earth, geotextile fibers and riprap.
The new ponds are smaller in acreage, but deeper than the old ponds. Total excavation in constructing the new ponds is 204,200 cubic yards. The existing ponds will serve as secondary/irrigation holding ponds when the new system is complete. About 1,300 feet of piping to transfer from aerated primaries to the existing system will also be installed this year.
One new center pivot irrigation unit is expected to be in place by May of 2007. Two more new irrigators will also be installed on two 80-acre parcels west of town purchased by the city. Close to three miles of irrigation forcemain which parallels the gas main has been installed up to 510th Avenue. The center pivot on the existing 49-acre irrigation site has been in operation for 22 years. Valley Irrigation is expected to install a new center pivot irrigator this fall or winter.
The existing wastewater treatment facility was constructed in 1964. In 1979, a portion of the facility was modified, including the installation of the existing center pivot irrigator for land application. The existing facility must be expanded to meet current Minnisota Pollution Control Agency regulations to handle additional wastewater flows due to increased housing in New York Mills.
Financing for the project comes from a $500,000 Small Cities Grant and a low interest loan from Minnesota Public Facilities Authority (PFA). This is a 20-year loan at 1 percent. The city will repay the loan using funds from sewer rate increases and the general fund.
