Amarillo advances wastewater plant expansions with $22.2M engineering award

Amarillo advances wastewater plant expansions with $22.2M engineering awardKimley-Horn & Associates secured two contracts for pre-design and conceptual services at the Hollywood Road and River Road facilities, setting the stage for one of the city's largest capital projects in decades.

Kimley-Horn & Associates was awarded a $9.39 million contract for the Hollywood Road II WWTP and a $12.87 million contract for the River Road II WWTP.

The agreements cover pre-design and conceptual services to support expansion planning and cost model development.

A resident noted the Hollywood Road plant is operating at 75% capacity while River Road is at 52%, suggesting a diversion pipeline as an alternative to a full expansion.

Both contracts were approved via the consent agenda and are funded by the city's Wastewater Treatment Expansion Phase 1 Design Grant.

The Amarillo City Council unanimously approved two professional engineering services agreements totaling $22.27 million for Phase 2 expansions of the city’s wastewater treatment facilities during its July 28 meeting. Kimley-Horn & Associates was awarded a $9,397,700 contract for the Hollywood Road II facility and a $12,874,250 contract for the River Road II facility. Both agreements cover pre-design and conceptual services to support expansion planning and cost model development to meet projected capacity, regulatory compliance, and long-term operational needs. City Manager Grayson Path highlighted the significance of the impending infrastructure work during an organizational update, noting that the wastewater treatment plant expansion is "one of the largest capital projects that we have taken on in many, many decades." The high cost of the pre-design phase drew pushback during the public comment period. Resident Mike Fisher questioned the combined $22.2 million expenditure for conceptual work, asking the council to pull the items from the consent agenda for further review. Another resident, Alan Feingold, questioned the immediate need for a massive capacity buildout. Feingold stated that while the Hollywood Road plant is currently operating at 75% capacity, the River Road plant is only at 52% capacity. He suggested the city could construct a pipeline to divert 20% of the wastewater load from Hollywood Road to River Road, balancing both facilities at roughly 63% capacity and potentially delaying the need for a full expansion by 10 years. Despite the public requests, the council retained the engineering agreements on the consent agenda and passed them unanimously. Both contracts are funded through the city’s Wastewater Treatment Expansion Phase 1 Design Grant.