The city of Athens’ Wastewater Treatment Plant will be undergoing a major overhaul once financial resources are secure.
If funding is secured, construction should be able to start in April of this year, said Andy Stone, city engineer and director of Public Works.
“Anytime you flush your toilet, it has to go somewhere before it goes back into the environment,” he said.
All drains within the city limits take wastewater to the plant for treatment. Once treated and purified, the wastewater is put back into the river.
Parts of the plant have been upgraded since the plant was built in the 1950s, but Stone said there has never been something this significant on the wet side of the plant where liquids are treated.
The dry side of the plant is where the solids are sorted out and receive further treatment, he added.
The three largest components of the project include demolition and replacement of the clarifiers, changing the disinfecting process, and moving the front end screening to a new building.
The clarifiers are currently rectangular, but the replacement clarifiers will be round, Stone added.
The rehabilitation project already has a low bidder, Building Crafts Inc., said Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, at an Athens City Council meeting earlier this month.
He added that there have been no issues with a plant in Tennessee after construction by the group.
A large-scale upgrade, such as the one that the plant hopes to undergo, is costly. However, Stone hopes to receive funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for this project.
In addition, he said, sewer bills will help pay for the project.
These bills will be increasing by approximately 3 percent per year at this point, Stone said, though this percentage isn’t set in stone.
“In order to comply with all regulations, it costs a bunch of money,” he said. “Athens sewer rates are (currently) in the bottom third of the state of Ohio.”
Though the cost will affect taxpayers, the long-term effects of rehabilitating the plant will outweigh the financial impact.
“People have to realize that this isn’t a frivolous expenditure,” Stone said. “It’s necessary improvements in order to continue running the city of Athens without polluting the environment.”
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