St. Mary’s Superintendent, Jeff Thompson, shares, “Untreated well water pumped into the treatment plant goes through a complex, multi-stage treatment process that takes about 12 hours, producing a consistent supply of high-quality drinking water. The treatment plant is a lime-soda ash softening facility; softening the water makes it ‘kinder’ to appliances, machinery, and the human body.”
See the plant move from design to finished construction in this video.
Because of the success of our previous work, Jones & Henry Engineers was retained by the City in 2016, to prepare a preliminary design for the new water treatment plant. The ensuing report noted the new treatment plant capacity of 2.4 mgd, a new well, preliminary building layout, treatment train recommendations, project costs, water system rate study, and preliminary schedule. We also assisted with funding source recommendations. The City elected to use the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account through OEPA for construction and an Ohio Water Development Authority design loan.
The new plant is also a groundwater supply, lime-soda softening plant located on a City-owned parcel adjacent to the lime sludge lagoons and a well field. The project consists of the new plant, a new well, two water transmission mains to connect the new plant to the distribution system and serve potential customers, and a sewer force main to connect to the existing collection system. The treatment plant includes: a treatment train of two rapid mixers, two upflow clarifiers, two recarbonation basins, four rapid sand gravity filters, and two precast concrete clearwells; vertical turbine pumps for transfer, high-service and filter backwash applications; submersible lime sludge, waste filter wash-water, and sewage pumps; chemical feed facilities for ferric chloride, gaseous chlorine, pebble lime, soda ash, and carbon dioxide; and an administration area for offices, restrooms, laboratory, lunch/training area, and garage/work area. The plant will feature Green initiatives including: LED light fixtures and VFDs for the vertical turbine pumps. The project went out for bid in April 2018, and the Notice to Proceed was dated July 3, 2018. The start-up date was April of 2020.
Jones & Henry Engineers provided preliminary and final design, and construction administration services.