City braces for costly water, sewer plant projects

Port Washington officials are preparing for two major utility projects to update facilities — an $18.3 million upgrade to the city’s water treatment plant and an $8 million project to improve the wastewater treatment plant.

Not only will the upgrades to the plants be done at about the same time, they are both having an impact on the city’s utility bills.

Earlier this year, the Common Council approved an 18% increase to the sewer rate that went into effect in March — increasing the average homeowner’s bill by $7.50 per bimonthly bill — and officials said another 6.5% increase is expected next year to help pay for these improvements.

And the water project is projected to increase bills by between 35% and 40%, officials have said, or $22 to $29 per bimonthly bill.

On Tuesday, Philip Bzdusek, the project manager with Strand Associates, told the Board of Public Works that the cost of the wastewater project has increased from $7.3 million in January to $7.6 million, including a 10% contingency.

That’s due in large part to the increasing cost of labor and materials, he said.

“Everything’s gone up in price,” he said. Equipment costs have increased 10% to 20% from April to October of this year, he said, and construction costs have gone up 15% since January 2021.

“It’s kind of unpredictable what will happen,” Bzdusek said.

The project is needed to allow the wastewater plant to better handle water at peak flow times — during large storms, when the peak flow exceeds the plant’s capacity — and to replace aging equipment, he said.

It will also help realize efficiencies at the plant and simplify operations, Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said.

“We’re not only replacing aged equipment, we’re modernizing the plant,” he said. “We’re improving plant reliability.”

It will also upgrade the plant to meet the city’s expected population through 2043.

Despite the rate increase, he said, the city’s sewer rates remain among the lowest in the area.

That’s not the case for the water rates, due in part to the fact that Port Washington draws its water from Lake Michigan and processing surface water is a much more costly operation than drawing water from a well.

However, officials point out, the city has a plentiful supply of high quality water.

The water plant improvements are prompted by a Department of Natural Resources order to upgrade the facility to meet current codes and address deficiencies, primarily regarding backup power and needed changes to the clearwell, that had been grandfathered by the state in the past.

The work, which is expected to extend the life of the plant by 25 to 30 years, will include building a new 500,000-gallon above-ground water reservoir on the south side of the plant, installing an ultraviolet light disinfection system and an emergency generator.

The project includes building an addition to the current plant that will take up much of the grassy area just south of the existing facility.

Both projects also are expected to happen on similar time frames.

Engineers expect to complete the design for the water plant by the end of this year and submit it to the DNR for review. It would then be bid during the second quarter of 2023, with construction slated to start in fall and be completed by the second quarter of 2025.

The water project will be financed through a DNR Safe Drinking Water  program loan.

Bids for the wastewater plant are expected to be opened in March 2023, with the city applying for a Clean Water Fund loan to pay for the project after that.

The project is expected to be substantially completed in February 2025 with all work done by April 2025.

Bzdusek noted that it can take as long as eight months to get equipment for the plant once it’s ordered, and major electrical equipment can take as long as a year.

He noted that the design for the work has been submitted to the DNR, which is waiting for a document from the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

“You’ll get approval,” Bzdusek told the board.

The board on Tuesday also agreed to move one portion of the wastewater upgrades — installation of clarifier trough covers in the ultraviolet disinfection system — ahead of the rest of the schedule.

By doing this, the utility will be able to prevent the growth of algae, eliminating the need for workers to spend two to four hours a week removing algae, officials said.

The board agreed to have Strand do the engineering work for this portion of the project at a cost of $9,300.