BY BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Reconstruction of the Hays wastewater treatment plant has reached the halfway mark, underway for 13 months and another 13 months to go.
A progress update was presented Thursday night to the Hays city commission by Eric Farrow, HDR on-site engineer at the facility.
“We kicked off the project May 31, 2017, with the notice to proceed and final completion is set for Sept. 15, 2019,” reported Farrow.
It may be finished before then.
“We continue to get schedule updates from the contractor monthly and the most recent schedule we have is July 15th next year, less than one year.”
“That’s wonderful,” interjected Commissioner Sandy Jacobs.
Farrow also noted there have not been any change orders to date in the $28.4 million plan.
Within a couple of months, new wastewater will be flowing into the new structures on the plant site, 1498 E. U.S. Highway 40 Bypass, and begin the start up.
“We’re not quite to the point where we’re testing the equipment out yet. We’ve tested the tanks and the pipes and things to make sure those are within specification. The process equipment will be one of the next items [to be tested.]”
Farrow expects to have the liquid equipment train of the plant improvements tested and started up by his next report to the commission on October 25. “Beyond that is the solid train, and I’m sure we can share some of that with you then,” he said.
The rainy summer has not slowed the work at the plant site, according to Farrow, but it’s a different story at the Fort Hays Municipal Golf Course.
The pond will provide additional storage capacity for the reuse water and ultimately, irrigation to the golf course.
“The golf course is in great shape but that also means the pond where we need to do some work is full of water,” Farrow said. “The city has made multiple attempts to pump down the water. With some dry weather, we hope to get out there. The contractor, M&D, just needs one to two weeks to get things in a position where we can start putting the final touches on the pond expansion.”
Farrow also talked about how the project is starting to work between the design/builder and the city.
“The infrastructure is my favorite thing to present an update on and it looks nice but we’re getting to the point where we have things like operational and maintenance manuals being developed. We have SCADA, which is the controls to the plant, getting developed.
“The city has been very forward in what its ‘asks’ are. I think the design/builder has delivered on that so far, just general operations and layout of the plant, so that staff is trained when we have that liquid start up going and then they are prepared when the first maintenance item comes up. I’m sure they’re excited about that,” Farrow joked.
“It’s coming together in that sense as well, both at the construction level and on the final operations side too,” he concluded.
The Burns and McDonnell/CAS Constructors team is design/builder for the project’s second phase for construction.
Hays initially had a Jan. 1, 2018, deadline to have the new wastewater treatment plant operating.
However, problems with CDM Smith, the Wichita firm hired for Phase 1 Design services and development of a GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) to rebuild the aging plant, caused a delay in the process. The city terminated that arrangement Aug. 18, 2016, after the Phase 1/Design portion of the contract was completed and awarded the Phase 2/Construction contract to Burns and McDonnell/CAS.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment agreed to extend the completion deadline to Sept. 1, 2019.
The city was fined $18,000 in 2012 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for excessive levels of phosphorous and nitrate. The current wastewater treatment facility was built in 1953. The plant must be upgraded to meet stricter KDHE and EPA permit requirements.