SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) –The city of Harrisburg wasn’t willing but the city of Lennox might be.
Lennox city officials have been discussing extending wastewater treatment services to the planned new men’s prison in Lincoln County. Monday’s council meeting included an update from Stockwell Engineers about the city wastewater capacity and changes that would need to be made if the city accepted sewer discharge from the prison.
“This isn’t a show stopper for us that this isn’t viable. This is showing that at least, this is an option that we can continue to pursue and get all the rest of the facts,” council member Chad Swier said during Monday’s council meeting. The meetings are posted on the city’s YouTube channel.
City administrator Nathan Vander Plaats said the information from Stockwell shows that with some improvements, the city could handle the sewer from the planned new prison.
Mitch Mergen of Stockwell said that if it makes $4.5 million in improvements it could better handle the proposed 180,000 gallons of sewer each day from the new prison. The prison would eventually increase that load to about 225,000 gallons a day.
The city already handles about 250,000 gallons a day. Mergen said the system has a capacity of 670,000 gallons a day. At a city population growth rate of 1.25%, the city’s sewage treatment would be able to handle that growth and the addition of the DOC wastewater, Mergen said.
But, council member Bill Daugherty asked for Stockwell to use the most recent growth rate of 3% in determining how much the wastewater load would increase in the future.
Stockwell will return to the council with that information. Vander Plaats said there would also be more information in the future. He plans to make a final report to the city by Oct. 15.
The state has agreed to pay up to $5,000 for engineering expenses for the city to study a sewer connection, according to minutes from the Sept. 9 meeting. If the council approves a sewer connection for the men’s prison, the state would pay for that use. It would also own the line needed to carry sewer about 12 miles from the prison to Lennox.
The city of Harrisburg would have received just under $7.2 million if it had agreed to connect the planned prison to its wastewater treatment system, the city’s mayor Derick Wenck said in an Aug. 19 KELOLAND News story. The money would have been used to repay loans and reduce utility payments for Harrisburg residents, Wenck said.
Vander Plaats contacted the state after Harrisburg rejected the DOC wastewater proposal, according to minutes from the Aug. 26 meeting.
Why would the DOC want to pump sewage to Lennox and not build its own wastewater ponds, council member Britney Mower asked during Monday’s meeting.
The DOC would need to hire staff to handle its own wastewater facility is one reason why it wants to connect to an existing system, said Kyle Ramynke, the Lennox utilities specialist.
It’s difficult to find wastewater systems staff, Mergen said.
If the city does agree to receive the DOC prison waste, would the state help pay for any future improvements or expansion, Mower asked.
On Monday, Vander Plaats said regardless of what the city does with the DOC, the city will still have wastewater improvement needs 20 or more years from now. A DOC agreement would “secure a funding source” for those needs, Vander Plaats said.
Mower and Daugherty also asked about odor control.
Ramynke said one piece of the $4.5 million in improvements is the $400,000 for the drying bed expansion. The DOC would double the amount of biosolids at the city’s facility. The biosolids need the water to be removed and must be disposed of. Two new drying beds would hold the extra biosolids and those could cause an odor on occasion depending on wind, he said.
There are also options to help control any odor, Mergen said.
The aerated equalization tank is an estimated $2.4 million of that $4.5 million.
Ramynke said the sewer waste from the city and sewer waste from the prison are blended in this buried tank which reduces the odor from sewage that travels about 12 miles from the prison. The DOC plans to screen its waste before discharge, Mergen said.
What if the DOC isn’t screening up to the city’s standards, Mower asked.
Mergen said the city has the option to shut down the flow. It’s the same option the city has with other users such as local manufacturers, Vander Plaats said.
