By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The end is in sight, and sooner than expected, of the $28.4 million rebuild of the Hays wastewater treatment plant.

“We kicked off the project May 31, 2017, with the notice to proceed and final completion is set for Sept. 15, 2019,” Eric Farrow, HDR on-site engineer at the facility told city commissioners at the halfway mark last August.

“Final completion will be within the next couple of weeks,” City Manager Toby Dougherty reported during last night’s commission meeting.

“Now they’re working on very small punch-list items. There are some things we’re making sure get tweaked with the vendors.”

Substantial completion was done June 3, more than three months ahead of schedule.

“That means the liquid side’s up, the solids sides are up,” Dougherty explained. “All of the processes are working.”

The entire design/build team will appear before the city commission in July with a final update. Commissioners will later tour the improved facility.

According to Dougherty, the project not only was completed ahead of schedule but also under budget.

The city was fined $18,000 in 2012 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for excessive levels of phosphorous and nitrate. The  wastewater treatment facility was built in 1953. The plant had to be upgraded to meet stricter permit requirements of the EPA and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.