{"id":10,"date":"2013-03-26T09:05:30","date_gmt":"2013-03-26T13:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/valdosta-pr-about-wastewater-issues.html"},"modified":"2013-03-26T09:05:30","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T13:05:30","slug":"valdosta-pr-about-wastewater-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2013\/03\/valdosta-pr-about-wastewater-issues.html","title":{"rendered":"Valdosta PR about wastewater issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

\nThe city of Valdosta responds. I have decorated this PR with a few\nimages with links, and a few comments after it. -jsq\n<\/p>\n

\n\nMayor and Council Address Recent Wastewater Issues<\/a>,\n<\/p>\n

\n

The Valdosta Mayor and City Council are committed to providing quality\nmunicipal services that meet the expectations of our citizens. In addition\nto providing fire and police protection and other beneficial quality of\nlife services, the city leadership is equally committed to providing\nadequate water and wastewater treatment services to its citizens,\nmaintaining a functioning sewer collection system and discharging treated\nwater in an environmentally responsible manner.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nRecently, citizens have been inundated with information about\nthe current state of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and sewer\ncollection system, as well as the decisions made during the recent flood\nevent. The following information is provided to explain the recent event\nand to help citizens better understand these important issues and the\ndedicated work of their elected officials and municipal staff.\n<\/p>\n

THE SITUATION<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\n

\nThe city operates two wastewater treatment plants, the Withlacoochee Plant\nand the Mud Creek Plant. Both plants have large wastewater treatment\ncapacities and perform several stages of treatment to remove over\n98% of the pollutants in the wastewater before it is discharged into\nlocal waterways. During heavy rainfall events, the volume of stormwater\nincreases and can cause inflow and infiltration (I&I) problems with\nthe sewer collection system\u2014which has been a major contributor to\nsewer spills.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nThe Withlacoochee Plant\u2014which was not in a flood zone when\noriginally built\u2014was severely flooded and damaged in the 2009\nflood event. The assessed level of damage to the Withlacoochee Plant\nwas actually a key factor in obtaining the federal disaster\ndeclaration by the President, a declaration that provided federal\nassistance to the city as well as all flood victims. The city\nimmediately sought FEMA’s assistance and applied for funding for\nimprovements to the collection system and for the relocation of the\nplant. While the city awaited FEMA’s approval for funding, any major\nimprovements to the plant or alternate sources of revenue sought\nwould jeopardize possible FEMA funding. In anticipation of FEMA’s\nfunding, the city proactively acquired 75 acres of land to relocate\nthe plant to property outside the 500-year flood plain and at an\nelevation approximately 60 feet higher than the existing plant site.\nAfter nearly three years of navigating FEMA’s claims and appeal\nprocess, the city was denied funding on August 1, 2012 for the\nrelocation of the plant and construction of a new force main\nproject, which would have significantly eliminated most sewer\noverflows.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nOn August 9, 2012, immediately following the final FEMA denial\nfor funding to relocate the Withlacoochee Plant, the Mayor and City\nCouncil approved a contract for the design of the Withlacoochee Plant\npump stations, force main, equalization basin and plant headworks, as\nwell as a find-and-fix program for leaking sewers\u2014all of which will\nresolve the issue of sewer overflows in the low lying areas along Sugar\nCreek and the first portions of the new treatment plant. Later in 2012,\n\n<\/a>\nthe city applied for a GEFA loan for $32 million. This project will\nbe bid in June of this year, and completion is anticipated in August\n2014. The city will also issue the Design\/Build RFP for the relocation\nof the Withlacoochee Plant within the next few months, which is expected\nto cost $20 million and be completed by August 2015.\n<\/p>\n

CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS<\/h3>\n

\nOver the last two decades, the city has invested nearly $168 million\nin capital improvement projects for its water and wastewater systems\nto meet the needs of a growing city. The water plant on Guest Road\ncost over $20 million to build in 1992 and was expanded in 2007 at a\ncost of nearly $20 million to meet the water consumption needs of\nthe city and its residential, commercial, business and industrial\ncustomers. The Mud Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant\nexpansion\u2014doubling its capacity\u2014was completed last year\nat a cost of nearly $40 million. Since 2009, the city has spent\napproximately $7 million on wastewater system improvements alone,\nincluding upgrading major lift stations, inspecting and repairing\nover 75 miles of sewer lines and more.\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/a>\nThe upcoming investment of $52 million for the Withlacoochee Plant\nand the Force Main project will increase the city’s investment to\napproximately $220 million in capital projects for its water and\nwastewater systems in the past 22 years\u2014an average of $10\nmillion a year.\n<\/p>\n

REGIONAL FLOODING<\/h3>\n

\nThe City of Valdosta is located in the lower portion of the\nWithlacoochee River and Little River basins, which drains\napproximately a 1,500 square mile area in South Georgia. Over the\nyears, city officials have encouraged key stakeholders to help\noutline efforts needed to protect our communities from future\nflooding risks at the local, regional, and state levels. While the\nnecessary repairs and relocation of the plant will remedy the sewer\noverflows in the collection system, it will not alleviate the\n\n<\/a>\ncontinued flooding risks of the plant and the Sugar Creek\nneighborhoods that occur during regional heavy rain events. Since\napproximately 99% of the stormwater comes from other communities as\nfar north as Crisp County, the solution will require a regional\napproach and upstream retention.\n<\/p>\n

\nFollowing the 2009 flood event, Valdosta officials initiated\nmeetings with various stakeholders to request assistance with the\n\n<\/a>\nflooding solution. The city has again contacted the U.S. Army Corps\nof Engineers (USACE), who has agreed to such a meeting and will be\nbringing all the appropriate agencies\u2014such as the Federal\nEmergency Management Agency, the Georgia Emergency Management\nAgency, U.S. Geological Survey, and other jurisdictional\nagencies\u2014to Valdosta next month to discuss the issue, seek\nsolutions, and develop a regional plan.\n<\/p>\n

LESSONS LEARNED<\/h3>\n

\nSeveral lessons were learned in the 2009 flood event which assisted in\nthe decision-making process in the February 2013 flood event:\n<\/p>\n