The city will save more than $415,000 by rehabilitating three concrete domes at the old wastewater plant as opposed to installing a new steel tank for wastewater storage.

Tuesday, December 14, 1999

The city will save more than $415,000 by rehabilitating three concrete domes at the old wastewater plant as opposed to installing a new steel tank for wastewater storage. A resolution to rehabilitate the tanks passed unanimously at the City Council meeting Monday night.

The domes are now being used by the city park, utility and street departments as an equipment storage facility. Repairing the domes would make them water-tight, allowing them to be used as they were originally intended, as excess sewage storage tanks.

&uot;The tanks would remain empty until there was an emergency,&uot; said city manager Paul Sparks. A problem might occur if a sewer pipe was ruptured or the storm sewers were flooded.

&uot;When that occurs, we will have at least 12 hours to fix the problem before we are forced to dump raw sewage into the lake,&uot; Sparks said. &uot;When the city had that problem once before, permanent repairs were completed under 12 hours.&uot;

The storage capacity is needed, whether or not it remains at the present location. The cost of constructing a new storage tank would have been too costly, Sparks said.

&uot;Many have complained that the domes are an eyesore. The construction of new storage tank, there or anywhere else, would not improve the view and would still cost the city,&uot; Sparks said.

In the meantime, the city still needs a storage facility for city equipment. The cost of building a steel shed to replace the capacity of the domes would cost approximately $140,000.

If this were done, the city could still save more than $210,000, Sparks said.

In 1992, workers accidentally punctured a sewer line while driving in a sign post in an inappropriate location. The sewage was diverted to the lake and permanent repairs made in under 12 hours, Sparks said.