Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage authority board members approved an almost half-million dollar expense for replacing equipment at the wastewater treatment plant, while also hearing updates on current and upcoming projects, when meeting Monday, June 27.
One of the wastewater plant’s clarifiers, a large concrete tank with a mechanical rake where waste solids settle and clear water is sent for filtration, has mechanical issues affecting its critical components, noted Gary McVey, water authority director. The unit is one of two clarifiers used to process wastewater at the plant.
An upgraded unit that will replace the damaged device costs less than the original one and can be maintained much easier, McVey noted.
A $456,643 bid from WesTech was approved for the work, which includes taking out the old clarifier and installing the new one. Another bid, for $900,000, was too expensive and for a different type of setup, McVey noted.
“We expected it to be a little higher, but I didn’t expect it to be that high,” he added.
Since the water authority has $500,000 budgeted for the equipment in its 2022-23 budget, the purchase was scheduled for July 1, the start of the authority’s new fiscal year.
“I know one month doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of difference, but it does,” said McVey about getting the purchase approved now instead of later.
The lead time on starting the project will probably be about 20 weeks, he noted.
“Clarifier #1 is still in operation and will be taken down for complete inspection once clarifier #2 is placed back into service,” McVey added.
In other news ...
— Starting a project that will replace a stretch of aging water line underneath South Main Street may be delayed due to power line work still going on in that part of Ellijay.
Engineering for the project, which will remove the last Transite water line made of asbestos cement from the water system, is being redone due to extensive undergrounding of power lines along South Main Street.
“We got with the (power) company and got a copy of their design, so (the engineers) could overlay and make adjustments and revisions,” McVey said.
McVey told board members Mike Gibbs, Billy Rowe, Hubert Parker, Don Callihan and Tony Whitaker he doesn’t recommend putting the South Main project out for bid anytime soon because of “the nature of the way things are right now.”
“It’s been crazy for a while, but I think it’s getting crazier,” he added.
There are several factors affecting larger projects including limited availability of materials, extremely long lead times and frequent price increases due to labor, fuel and high demand, McVey noted.
“(This) is the reason we are recommending to the board to postpone putting the South Main Street project out for bid at this time,” he said. “This particular project is going to be very complex due to the location and the scope of work with issues such as paving, traffic control, seasonal concerns, etc.”
The project is on the water authority’s current five year plan, with funding budgeted for this and the next fiscal year.
“This is a ‘set in stone’ project for the authority, and it will be put out to bid at some point in the future,” McVey said.
— A mass water meter changeout to digital meters has picked up steam recently after delays in receiving the needed meters and materials, McVey told board members.
“Things are starting to roll in a little better, or at least it appears to be,” he added.
The water authority is currently working toward completing all routes inside Coosawattee River Resort, McVey said.
“We received enough meters and transmitters to complete the Beaver Bend/Beaver Lake area. As soon as the readings are over (for this month) we’ll start installing those,” he added.
After that, two more routes will remain inside Coosawattee, which is the biggest total group of water meters, McVey noted.