Major wastewater treatment plant renovation approved

In a significant move to modernize and improve its aging wastewater infrastructure, the Randall City Council approved an addendum to its agreement with engineering firm Widseth to undertake a comprehensive renovation of the Randall wastewater treatment plant at its Wednesday, July 10 meeting.

The project, which will be carried out in partnership with Nero Engineering as a subcontractor to Widseth, aims to address a range of issues identified by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) regarding the plant’s outdated equipment and lack of redundancy.

Dave Reese of Widseth attended the meeting to give details on why the project needed more funding. Eric Meester from Nero Engineering also attended the meeting.

City Manager Matt Pantzke said that although the City has gotten by with its current wastewater treatment plant over the past 10 years that he has worked for Randall, the aging equipment has caused more and more headaches. He shared an anecdote where he and other City employees were at the plant for over eight hours one day trying to figure out what was wrong with the equipment. An electrician came in and said he didn’t know where to start due to the antiquated equipment. Although the problem was eventually resolved, a lot of time and money could have been saved had the plant been more up to date, and the anecdote was not an isolated incident.

“The plant is getting old and it’s a lot of money to spend. There’s no doubt about that,” Pantzke said. “But we’ve talked in great detail about the things that cause some issues down there. I don’t think any of us ever expected the project to grow to the size that is today. Our initial scope was maybe doing a little bit of maintenance work down there. The MPCA coming back and saying ‘No, we’re not going to allow you to do that unless you have a third cell’ really changed everything. So then we looked at every step, from the lift station and preventing backups into people’s homes that right now requires somebody to drop everything in the middle of the night, hurry up and get there within 30 minutes and drag the generator down there and plug it in before Mrs. Saxon has sewage in her basement.”

Key components of the renovation include adding a third SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor) tank to provide redundancy and allow for maintenance without disrupting operations, upgrading the plant’s aeration and digestion systems to improve treatment capabilities and address issues with cold weather performance, replacing aging equipment like the side hill screen and grit removal system and adding new features like a screenings compactor to improve operations. The project also includes constructing a new administrative building to provide storage, updated facilities for staff and improved electrical and control systems, as well as installing a backup natural gas generator to ensure continuous power during outages.

“Almost all of the improvements that we try to incorporate in here is addressing a lot of those things that are kind of an operational nuisance for the staff out there: doing bypasses or things that maybe fail in the middle of the night because they don’t want to have redundancy or even just sometimes access and stuff like that,” Meester said. “So it’s definitely going to be a much, much easier facility for the team to maintain out there than what they currently have.”

The Council’s approval of the addendum, a $392,398 increase bringing the total cost to $1.132 million, marks a significant milestone in the project’s development. The next steps will involve finalizing the construction documents and securing the necessary permits and funding from state agencies like the MPCA and the Public Facilities Authority (PFA).

“Some of the people don’t realize it, but probably the greatest benefit is for the residents, because they’ll continue to run properly so they won’t have any backups here or there or any issues,” said Mayor Danny Noss. “A lot of times they don’t think they’re going to benefit from this, but they are.”

The project’s comprehensive nature is a key focus, as the City and its engineering partners aim to address not just the immediate issues but also the long-term sustainability of the wastewater treatment plant. By incorporating redundancy, upgrading aging equipment and improving overall efficiency, the renovation is designed to serve the community for the next 30 to 35 years.

Although the increased cost to the initial agreement caused some sticker shock, Meester stressed that the project would ultimately save time and money for the employees and residents of Randall.

“Something I was told very young in my career by one of my mentors was this mindset of, ‘If you don’t have money to do it right the first time, how do you have money to do it twice?’” Meester said. “It’s certainly a proverb that I remember often as I do these. Don’t think about what’s always the cheapest. Start with what’s right and see where that gets you.”

One of the primary drivers behind the project is the MPCA’s concerns about the plant’s current configuration and its ability to meet regulatory standards. The existing two-cell system has presented challenges, as taking one cell out of service for maintenance or repairs can disrupt the plant’s ability to discharge clean effluent while still receiving raw sewage. The addition of a third SBR tank will provide the necessary redundancy to address this issue and allow for more seamless operations during maintenance or upgrades.

The upgrades to the aeration and digestion systems are also crucial, as the plant has struggled with the impact of cold weather on its treatment capabilities. By improving these systems, the city aims to ensure consistent and reliable performance throughout the year, even during the harsh Minnesota winters.

In addition to the technical improvements, the new administrative building will provide much-needed storage and updated facilities for the plant’s staff. Currently, the plant lacks dedicated space for storing spare parts and equipment, with staff forced to improvise and utilize any available wall space. The new building will address this issue and also include modern restrooms and showers, allowing workers to clean up after handling the plant’s messy operations.

The backup generator is another critical component of the renovation, as the plant currently has no reliable source of emergency power. In the event of an outage, the plant is forced to rely on a portable generator that can only power the lift stations, leaving the treatment process completely shut down. The new natural gas-powered generator will ensure that the entire facility can continue to operate even during a power failure, maintaining the plant’s ability to treat wastewater and protect the environment.

With the Council’s approval in place, the City and its engineering partners will now focus on the detailed design phase and securing the necessary funding and approvals to begin construction on the renovated wastewater treatment plant in Randall.

“You can expect to see our lovely faces again in front of you for some time, probably in August,” Reese said.