The Atlanta Citizen » Environment

Crooked Creek Water Reclamation Facility To Get $21 Million Face-lift

Jamie Ward — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:52:08 +0000

: The influent pump station will be improved and upgraded as part of the $21 million renovation at the Crooked Creek Water Reclamation Facility.

GWINNETT COUNTY — The Board of Commissioners approved a contract on Tuesday for $21.4 million in upgrades and improvements to the Crooked Creek Water Reclamation Facility.

According to Department of Water Resources Spokesman Ron Peters, customers will not notice a difference as a result of the upgrades but also won’t have to worry about “waste water spilling everywhere” in the future. Peters called the current facility “worn out” and a “harsh environment” after years of continued service and said improving the facility now was the “fiscally responsible” thing to do.

The upgrades include construction of new headworks, a new influent pump station with electrical building, and upgrades to existing odor-control facilities along with new piping, a new flow meter, and a backflow prevention system. Future projects will add new solids handling and disinfection facilities to the plant. When finished, the Crooked Creek plant will treat 25 millions of gallons per day (mgd), up from its current 16 mgd limit, and will be easily expandable.

Federal stimulus funds will pay a portion of the interest cost on recovery zone economic development bonds for the project, said acting Water Resources Director Lynn Smarr. Pizzagalli Construction Co., Inc. was the lowest of seven bidders at 70 percent of the estimated cost of the work to be done at the plant off Holcomb Bridge Road near Norcross. Pizzagalli has also worked on Gwinnett’s two other main treatment plants, the 60 mgd Hill Plant and the 22 mgd Yellow River Plant that is currently being rebuilt.

“We’re eager to get this long-planned work underway because Crooked Creek discharges its reclaimed water to the Chattahoochee River,” Smarr said. The Hill Plant will soon begin returning reclaimed water to Lake Lanier, which also drains into the river.

“This project is another major piece of our ongoing program of upgrades to our water and sewer systems designed to comply with tighter environmental regulations and serve the county for the next 50 years,” said Chairman Charles Bannister in a released statement. “We’re grateful for the federal funds that are helping offset some of the cost of these infrastructure improvements as we prepare to meet the needs of the future.”

Please Don’t Dump Anything In Metro Atlanta’s Sewer Manhole Covers, Especially In Gwinnett!

Jamie Ward — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:12:47 +0000

Gwinnett County officials say people are illegally dumping waste into sewer system manhole covers like this one by prying them open.

GWINNETT COUNTY — Officials want the public’s help in catching anyone who might be dumping illegal waste into the county’s sewer system by prying open the sewer manhole covers.

Acting Director of Water Resources Lynn Smarr said people are dumping everything from grease and chemicals to septic tank pumping.

“It’s not only illegal but it’s also dangerous for the perpetrators and our employees. We’re asking anyone who sees suspicious activity to report it immediately,” Smarr said. “As environmental regulations get tighter, we’ve got to be strict about enforcing illegal dumping laws.”

According to Deputy Director of Operations and Environmental Services Tyler Richards, this seems to be occurring mainly in partially developed residential, commercial and industrial areas.

“With manholes in the street in these areas and few people around to witness them, it is easy to pull a manhole cover and discharge waste,” Richards said in an e-mail to the Citizen. “With the downturn in the economy there are many such developments throughout the metro area.”

Richards said she believes the main motivation is money.

“To discharge a legitimate waste, such as septage, to our system you must pay a fee of $125 per 1000 gallons and take the waste to one of our treatment facilities,” she said. “By discharging into a manhole, they can save the fee and save the travel time to the facility. Unfortunately, that means the cost of treatment will have to be borne by the other ratepayers.”

Richards said Gwinnett’s fee for discharge is comparable to other surrounding jurisdictions. She also said what is alarming is that people could be dumping waste that should not be allowed into a sewer system at all.

“The waste may be grease from restaurant grease traps that can stop up the sewer and cause overflows, it may be hazardous and create dangerous conditions for our workers or the public near the sewer, it could also harm the processes at our treatment facilities,” Richards said, “Anytime the public sees someone discharging into a manhole that is not a county vehicle, it would be of great assistance if they could report it; taking a picture or video would be helpful as well.”

Residents can call Gwinnett Police at 770-513-5100 or Water Resources at 678-376-7000. Both lines are staffed 24 hours a day. County vehicles are clearly marked and Water Resources employees wear uniforms.

“Tough economic times lead people to do things they wouldn’t normally do,” Richards said. “We all need to be vigilant to protect public health and safety.”

Drought Over, Gwinnettians Still Saving Water, And The New Water Pricing Begins

Jamie Ward — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:21:04 +0000

GWINNETT COUNTY — Government officials reported Tuesday that despite the drought ending and Lake Lanier now being full, Gwinnettians are still conserving water.

According to a county-issued press release, average water usage was 71.3 million gallons per day in 2009 compared with 71.9 million in 2008 and almost 18 percent lower than the 86.8 million gallons used in 2007. Total usage for the year was 26 billion gallons, compared with 26.3 in 2008.

Those numbers drew praise from Board of Commissioners Chairman Charles Bannister and Acting Director of the Water Department Lynn Smarr.

“With our raw water supply in the hands of others, we need to be good stewards of this resource,” Bannister said in reference to Georgia’s ongoing water war with Alabama and Florida. “I encourage everyone to keep up the good work.”

“We’ve had a wet year but normally when a drought ends people tend to slip back to their old habits,” Smarr said. “We’re very pleased that our customers are not doing that.”

Despite the conservation efforts being exercised by Gwinnettians, a new year-round, tiered pricing policy took effect Jan. 1. The policy was implemented last March after being approved by the Board of Commissioners and is similar to the summertime tiered pricing policies that caught many customers off guard this past summer, mainly because drought restrictions were lifted and these same customers were unaware of the price changes and they’d restarted to water their lawns. According to water department spokesman Peter Frank, customers will see the most recent change when they receive their bills later this month.

“The year-round tiered rate structure is a similar water billing model to all other metro Atlanta water and sewer agencies, to encourage year-round water conservation,” Frank said. “Prior to this year, we were the only agency that we are aware of, that had tiered rates only in the summer months.”

Frank said the average residential customer in Gwinnett uses between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of water per month, so an average customer will only pay for their water at tier 1 rates, currently $4.11 per 1,000 gallons. So if a customer uses between 1 and 7,999 gallons, they will pay the tier 1 rate. If they use between 8,000 and 11,999 gallons — tier 2 — they’ll pay 1.5 times the tier 1 rate ($6.17) for this consumption. If they use 12,000 gallons or more, the amount over 12,000 will be billed two times the tier 1 rate ($8.22) for consumption at this level.

“Water conservation has become, and will continue to become more important, as metro Atlanta continues to grow,” Frank said. “The ongoing water waters could also potentially impact how much water is available to the metro area, so conservation is here to stay. Water pricing is one way to continue to encourage year-round water conservation.”

With the drought ended, Frank was then asked if there might be a rollback of the summer surcharges or better yet, a decrease in the price of water all together.

“There won’t be any summer surcharge going forward. It has been replaced by the year-round tiered rate structure,” he said. “Water and sewer rates are based on financial modeling that determines the amount of revenue required to cover our operating expenses, capital infrastructure spending, the cost to repair and maintain our infrastructure and our debt service. All of our costs are paid for by the charges that we bill our customers as we are 100 percent self funded. There are currently no plans to change the rates that were approved through 2015 back in March of 2009.”

The approved rate resolution implemented by the Board of Commissioners is available on the county Web site.

As for the ongoing water war and a potential resolution coming in 2010, Frank said, “We are supporting the Governor’s efforts for congressional authorization, in the tri-state negotiations, the Governor’s Task Force on Contingency Planning, and in our own legal appeal.”