Thursday, April 16, 2015
YOLO COUNTY NEWS
99 CENTS

City breaks ground for upgrade of sewage plant

By
From page A1 | April 15, 2015 |

The city’s groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon for its $89 million upgrade to its 42-year-old wastewater treatment plant emphasized the years-long process it took to begin build the most expensive public works project in Davis history.

“Davis is a community that believes in investing in the future,” Mayor Dan Wolk said.

This future involves meeting increasingly strict state regulations for the discharge of treated sewage leftovers into the environment. So-called nutrient levels — ammonia, total suspended solids, turbidity, coliform, aluminum, iron and selenium — have to be curtailed further from what’s used today with what’s called a tertiary process.

But it doesn’t come cheap.

The original cost of the upgrades was $95 million, but a low-interest state loan — at 1.5 percent — the city signed off on last month cut 6 percent off the construction price and could potentially save ratepayers more than $38 million over the next 30 years.

The city’s original price estimate came to be utilizing a design-build sequence, where the same company that designs the plans, builds the project. It’s a system with built-in savings that is not yet standard for public works projects in California, but saves significant coasts over a traditional process of hiring one company to design and another to build.

The loan is through the State Water Resources Control Board’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Its job is to send money to deserving local government public works projects using cash from different government sources, like the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the money paid back from other agencies that have been given loans.

“We are responsible for stewarding our environmental future, Don Saylor, Yolo County supervisor and former Davis City Council member, said. “…We want to know that our wastewater is not going to damage the environment of Yolo County or downstream.”

Saylor’s 2011 City Council approved rate hikes to pay for the new upgrades.

The surface water project uses low-interest funding from the state, as well, and was part of the calculus for the wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

“We knew we had to improve the source water before we could have a new waste facility,” Saylor said, referring to the hard salts found in many Davis water wells that will not be an issue with water siphoned off from the Sacramento River as part of the surface water project.

The public helped the city choose a plan for the sewage plant that will use recent technology to meet wastewater treatment standards.

Michael Lindquist, Davis’ wastewater upgrade project manager, has said the project called for in city plans was chosen in part for its ability to one day use recycled wastewater for irrigation. Parts of the current wastewater treatment plant also need rehabilitation.

If the state’s 40-year trend continues, city officials have said, there will be even more stringent wastewater regulations coming down from the California Legislature.

Will Arnold, a representative of state senator Lois Wolk, D-Davis, said the ceremonial groundbreaking ceremonies for public works projects have a kind of illusion to them.

“These groundbreakings feel like the beginning of something, but the folks involved know it’s the end of a long process,” he said.

After the speeches, a pile of ceremonial dirt and a row of ceremonial shovels waited for officials, workers and whoever else wanted to pose with them for photographers, while a windy day brought a fragrance from nearby wastewater ponds that could be endured with a stiff upper lip.

— Reach Dave Ryan at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at @davewritesnews

Comments

comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this newspaper and receive notifications of new articles by email.

  • .

    News

     
    Experts move us toward better transportation solutions

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: A1 | Gallery

    Test-taking goes digital next week

    By Jeff Hudson | From Page: A1 | Gallery

     
    California’s cycles of drought

    By New York Times News Service | From Page: A1 | Gallery

     
    Small aircraft lands on Capitol lawn

    By The Associated Press | From Page: A2

     
    Winters man sentenced in child pornography case

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: A2

    Two jailed after burglary, police chase

    By Lauren Keene | From Page: A2

     
    Per Capita Davis: A gusher of water conservation news

    By John Mott-Smith | From Page: A3

    AAUW hosts Yamada speech

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: A3

     
    Bike clinic set May 17 at I-House

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: A3

    Fujimoto receives Ag Sustainability Leadership Award

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: B4 | Gallery

     
    Davis plans for next steps with electric vehicles

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: B4 | Gallery

    Support network

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: A4 | Gallery

     
    .

    Forum

    Feeling like a sucker

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: B5

     
    Provide more metered parking

    By Letters to the Editor | From Page: A6

    Tom Meyer cartoon

    By Debbie Davis | From Page: A6

     
    College applications and criminal records

    By New York Times News Service | From Page: A6Comments are off for this post

     
    Free speech in Israel

    By Letters to the Editor | From Page: A6

    Thanks for the support!

    By Letters to the Editor | From Page: A6

     
    .

    Sports

    Critical home stretch at hand for UCD lacrosse team

    By Bruce Gallaudet | From Page: B1

     
    DHS girls win big, now look ahead to Franklin

    By Evan Ream | From Page: B1 | Gallery

    Blue Devil swimmers win everything against Grant

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: B1 | Gallery

     
    Tough stretch continues for Davis baseballers

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: B1

    Devil golfers use some new faces in victory

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: B1 | Gallery

     
    Youth roundup: Diamonds dominate recent championship meets

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: B2 | Gallery

    Pro sports briefs: Lopez lifts Republic FC over Vancouver

    By Staff and wire reports | From Page: B3

     
    Sports briefs: Blue Devils get a wild softball win

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: B3

    JV/frosh roundup: Two big wins for younger DHS boys lacrosse

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: B8 | Gallery

     
    .

    Features

    Wine and beast: the vegetarian version

    By Susana Leonardi | From Page: A7

     
    .

    Arts

    Croatian film featured at I-House series

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: A7Comments are off for this post

     
    DMTC to present ‘Wizard of Oz’

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: A7

    Gurf Morlix will take root at The Palms

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: A7 | Gallery

     
    ‘Mary Poppins’ auditions set at WOH

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: A7

     
    .

    Business

    Pollinate Davis opens creative and communal working space

    By Felicia Alvarez | From Page: A3, 1 Comment | Gallery

     
    .

    Obituaries

    Herman Timm

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: A4

     
    .

    Comics

    Comics: Thursday, April 16, 2015

    By Creator | From Page: A5

     
    .

    Picnic Day 2015

    UC Davis hosts the 101st Picnic Day

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND2

    Picnic Day 2015 notable events

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND4

    Not your typical Paint Horse

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: PND5

    Chemistry Club does a bang-up job with magic show

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: PND6

    A winner of a wiener: Nibbles, ’09 Grand Champion

    By Daniella Tutino | From Page: PND10 | Gallery

    Schedule of 2015 Picnic Day bands around campus

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND14

    Picnic Day parade marshals give direction and give back

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND21

    A great day for a parade

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: PND22

    More than 70 parade participants

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND23

    UC’s only design majors show off Signature Collection

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND24

    Working like a dog

    By Enterprise staff | From Page: PND27

    Picnic Day 2015 animal events schedule

    By Special to The Enterprise | From Page: PND28

    Battle of the Bands is Picnic Day at its best

    By Tanya Perez | From Page: PND31