A new plan backed by the Modesto Irrigation District directors and the Modesto City Council of Modesto, Calif., should have the city’s new wastewater treatment plant completed by December 2009.
According to the Modesto Bee, MID directors approved a package of resolutions that were necessary to go forward with the $64.3 million project. The package was then unanimously approved by the city council.
Greg Dias, project manager for the water treatment plant, estimated that construction costs for the expansion project would be about $49.6 million. The rest of the $14.7 million will go to the remaining engineering and administrative costs.
Four other resolutions related to “Phase II" expansion of the regional water treatment plant were also approved.
Dias reported to the Modesto Bee that the MID would be ready to award the construction contract in June.
All expansion work and improvements to existing facilities would be completed by December 2009. Performance testing would be completed no later than July 2010.
The expansion of the wastewater treatment near the Modesto Reservoir will increase the treatment capacity from 30 million to 60 million gallons a day.
The water treated at the plant originates in the Tuolumne River, then piped to Modesto, where it is blended with water from wells throughout the city.
Over the years, some city wells have closed due to problems with contaminants and low pressure. These problems have made the treated river water even more important to Modesto, which also provides water to smaller communities, as well as portions of Turlock and Ceres.
Once the treatment plant is finished, the MID will be able to provide Modesto with 33,600 more acre-feet of treated water each year. An acre-foot is enough to supply a family of four for a year.
Other improvements in the expansion plan include construction of water storage tanks, pipelines and control valves.
Source: Modesto Bee
