City moving forward with upgrade to aeration system at wastewater plant

By Howard B. Owens
Aug 6, 2021, 5:23pm

Press release:

A Million dollar capital project to fix the air header system at the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) was approved by City Council at the beginning of April 2021. After the design process was complete by GHD Group engineers, the City Department of Public Works bid out the project and City Council awarded the construction contract to Keeler Construction.

“The City advanced the project to the top of the capital improvement list for 2021 as it was determined that the air lines were degraded more than originally anticipated,” said Rachael Tabelski, City Manager, City of Batavia.

The project will replace the air header system servicing the ponds. The existing 30-year-old air header system was found to be compromised. It is leaking a significant amount of air, and not delivering enough air to the ponds to efficiently digest waste. These conditions have led to more odor in areas adjacent to the ponds.

Currently, a temporary airline system is being used that introduces supplemental oxygen to the three primary wastewater ponds (attached graphic).   The temporary system is working on 50% capacity and will remain in place until project completion.

“The City expedited the project; however the contractor had material supply chain issues in June and July. These have been remedied and last week work on the site started up again. Pond three airlines have been fully replaced and tested. Keeler is moving swiftly to ponds one and two for replacement now,” said Ray Tourt, Acting Director of Public Works.

The material delays have set the project back by two months. Manufacturers and distributors are struggling to make their commitments and this is one of the projects that was impacted by the disruption. The project team of GHD Group, Keeler Construction and the City of Batavia are working to expedite the project and make up for lost time. The City, at the request of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), has taken steps to mask and minimize odors until project completion.

“The City continually revises complex capital improvement plans for infrastructure that includes the WWTP, water plant, sewer collection stations, water distribution lines, paved surface areas, vehicle and equipment as well as other City facilities. The air header project was identified in recent capital plans and the City was able to reserve enough funds to begin the project in 2021,” said Rachael J. Tabelski, City Manager.

History of the Waste Water Treatment Plant

In 1990 treatment of waste began at the “new” wastewater treatment facilities which serves the City and a portion of the Town of Batavia. Completion of the new facilities represented the culmination of a long-term effort to provide upgraded treatment of wastewaters from the City and Town prior to discharge to Tonawanda Creek. At the time, the new facility enabled the City and Town's opportunities to expand their economic growth.

The WWTP is constructed on approximately 500 acres of land bordering the Conrail railroad tracks east of Donahue Road and north of Rose Road and replaced the City's old mechanical wastewater treatment plant, which was located on the south bank of Tonawanda Creek east of River Street.

Initial study and planning efforts focused upon upgrading or replacing the City's existing mechanical treatment facility with a similar facility. However, estimates indicated that the project costs, particularly with regard to annual operation and maintenance of the new facility, would place a tremendous burden upon the City and its customers. A more cost-effective treatment system was devised whereby the City constructs the treatment process using a series of wastewater treatment lagoons instead of a mechanical treatment plant.

The lagoon system requires the use of a significantly larger land area and overall costs to the City was estimated to be one-third less than with a traditional plant upon construction.

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