Orofino water plant, proposed solution
By Alannah Allbrett
Last week (May 27),
The
The job of “making
water” to satisfy present and future demands of the city is challenging with
yester-year’s equipment and today’s
regulations. Providing
safe water is a complex process under the best
of circumstances, and with dilapidated water plant, meeting the output needs has
become more difficult day-by-day.
If there were an immediate
failure to the present facility, a mobile water plant would have to be rented at
a cost of $50,000 to $75,000 per month. It is apparent that the plant cannot be
sustained indefinitely in its present condition.
City officials have been
looking ahead to the community’s future needs, as well as the present, knowing
that the estimated life cycle of a water plant is 20 to 25 years at best.
Good news
The good news is, while the
tired, old, work-horse of a plant has been pushed beyond its limits, monies have
been set aside and invested – knowing that the day would come when a new plant
would need to be constructed.
Orofino residents have been
paying two bonds in their current monthly water bills: one bond amount of $17
and the second for $16. In September 2013, water bond number one for $17 will be
paid off. By the time the first bond is paid off in September 2013, the new
water treatment plant and other improvements should be completed. The $17 will
continue to be paid and added to the second bond of $16. When combined, both
bonds will be enough to repay the loan from IDEQ. The city will begin repaying
the loan six months after all construction is complete.
Orofino will be in a position, 30 years from now, to replace the new
(proposed) plant when it wears out, because of money being set aside from
residents’ current water bill.
Years ago, future water needs
were anticipated and rates were gradually increased. The first year (of
increases) residents’ water bills were raised $4. Year two it was increased by
another $4. It was raised by that amount every year for five years (and stopped
at that amount), which makes up the $16 amount mentioned above.
In 1996, voters approved a
$2.8 million dollar water bond. Out of that, $1.5 million dollars of bonds were
sold. The city received the money in cash and a grant in the amount of $500,000.
Those monies were used to make system improvements,
such as the construction of the new 500,000 gallon
New plant
The current water plant
is a conventional plant relying on settling,
filtration, and chemicals to produce clean water. With today’s technology, water
production can be doubled in a smaller space by using membrane filtration
technology. Water is forced more efficiently and quickly through pressurized
membrane tubes.
Water rights
The Idaho Department of Water
Resources has set Orofino’s water rights at 2.2 mgd
(million gallons per day). With the old plant, the most water that can
be produced is 1.2 mgd, which is not enough to
meet current or
future demand. The new membrane
technology will maximize the city’s water rights
where a conventional plant cannot. The membrane system will use two banks
of the membrane filters, held within tubes – in units of about 24 tubes per
bank. A third row of membranes can go online in the future to increase the
capacity by another third.
The city is not eligible to
increase water rights until it proves the capability of producing what is
needed. Orofino will stand a better chance of getting increased water rights in
the future by increased water production capabilities.
Zero percent interest loan
City Administrator, Rick Laam,
has been serving Orofino in that capacity for 23 years. He knows the history of
the water plant, current needs, and future projections. Laam said, “The Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) is providing an interest-free loan
for thirty years, driving the City’s ability to replace its outdated water
treatment plant, provide construction of additional system and reservoir
improvements, and to keep water rates as low as possible.” “With that in mind,”
he went on to say, “on
The cost breakdown
In April of this year, IDEQ
notified the City that our funding application to replace the aging treatment
plant had been approved. The award is divided into two parts: 1. a $6,638,368
interest-free loan; and 2. a grant that forgives a portion of the principal in
the amount of $1,852,007.
There will be, however, a
slight adjustment in the Base Rate and the Usage Fee. The current base rate is
$11.25 per month. The new base rate will increase by $3.25 to $14.50 per month.
The current usage fee is $1.05 per 1,000 gallons of water. The new usage fee
will increase by .20 to $1.25 per 1,000 gallons.
Other funding
The city will be applying for
a $500,000 ICDBG - Idaho Community Development Block Grant. The city will also
contribute cash in the amount $281,875 toward the project.
Water system improvements
The four components to the
proposed water system improvements are: 1. a new water treatment plant
$7,193,750; 2. a new raw water pump station $743,750; 3. construction of a new
water intake system $552,875; and 4. a
Property
The city was unable to
acquire the property adjacent to the current water plant, owned by the railroad.
However, the city already owns property at
Cost without interest-free
loan
Without the interest-free
loan from IDEQ, how much would water rates increase? “At
a simple interest rate of 3%,” said Laam, “over the same thirty year period of
the IDEQ loan, the city would need to increase water rates by at least $45 per
month. This means a household who
uses 6000 gallons of water per month would pay the current base of $44.25 plus
an additional $45, plus the $3.25 base and
usage fee of $1.25 that the city needs to pass
on for a total of $93.75.”
What if the bond fails?
As Rick Laam said, “It’s
hard to imagine that anyone would vote against an interest-free loan. This is a
once in a lifetime opportunity. We need to support this proposition not only for
today’s citizens, but also for future generations.”
Additional public educational
materials and meetings are now being planned.