Bullhead City commits $5.75m to wastewater treatment upgrades

Bullhead City commits $5.75m to wastewater treatment upgradesBullhead City Council has unanimously approved a $4.95 million contract for Section 10 blower-building improvements and an $806,080 sole-source membrane replacement at the Section 18 wastewater treatment plant. The decisions continue the utility's capital programme for its two regional treatment facilities.

Kay Constructors won a $4,948,131.94 contract for two blower buildings at the Section 10 wastewater treatment plant.

Zenon Environmental Corporation will supply the final two replacement membrane units at the Section 18 plant for $806,080 plus applicable sales taxes.

Council was told that Section 18's membranes have a five-to-seven-year expected life; the units being replaced are eight years old.

The utility also ratified a $242,095.42 change order to add 800ft of 16-inch transmission main to South Supply Line Phase II, using unspent grant funding.

Bullhead City Council has approved $5.75 million of wastewater-treatment works, authorising major blower-building improvements at its Section 10 regional plant and replacement of the last two membrane units at the Section 18 wastewater treatment plant. The council voted 6-0 to award Kay Constructors a $4,948,131.94 construction contract for the Section 10 SRP Blower Building Improvements project. Utilities Director Mark Clark said the work forms part of the city’s master plan for expansion of the Section 10 wastewater treatment plant. The project covers two blower buildings. One will provide air to the plant’s aeration basins and oxidation ditch, where biological treatment begins. The other will serve the digesters, a later stage of the treatment process. Clark told councillors the equipment is required to keep the biological process operating, describing the two buildings as central to the plant’s treatment process. The buildings will separate the blower equipment from associated electronics. Clark said the blowers generate substantial heat and noise, and electronics will be housed in separate rooms behind block walls. Clark said further Section 10 works are expected to come before the council next year, including ultraviolet disinfection, tertiary cloth filtration and solids-handling elements. Once those projects are completed, he said, the plant upgrade programme would be substantially complete apart from minor works. Separately, the council unanimously approved an agreement with Zenon Environmental Corporation, on a sole-source basis, to replace the final two membrane units at the Section 18 wastewater treatment plant. The agreement is valued at $806,080, excluding applicable sales taxes. Section 18 uses membrane treatment units that Clark likened to linguine-shaped strands. The membranes retain solids as water is forced through them for subsequent treatment. The facility has four membrane basins, with two taken out of service at a time for cleaning so that at least two remain in operation. The membranes have an expected life of five to seven years, according to Clark. The units now being replaced are eight years old, while two other membrane units were replaced last year. The utility selected Zenon because its membranes fit the existing racks; changing supplier would require replacement of the rack system, Clark said. City Manager Toby Cotter told the meeting that Bullhead City operates two regional treatment plants close to the Colorado River watershed, making ongoing investment in treatment infrastructure a utility obligation. Clark added that water and wastewater are enterprise funds, funded by customer revenues. Council also ratified a $242,095.42 change order for South Supply Line Phase II. The change adds 800ft of 16-inch transmission main, extending the line to the second driveway of the Catholic church. Clark said the work used the balance of a $1 million grant obtained through Senator Hilda Yung’s office after the original construction bid came in below the grant amount.