Expansion
Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion
Capacity increase means being prepared for Owatonna’s future growth
Construction of the Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade and Expansion has been progressing since July.
Driving up to the wastewater treatment plant site looks quite a bit different than it did a month ago with the new Fine Screen Building standing tall between the Main Lift Station and Administration buildings. The precast walls were up in about a week’s time in early December and the brick façade blends in nicely with the existing structures. Work is continuing within the structure and the three fine screens that are onsite are expected to be installed in early January. Concrete work continues at the MBR building even through the winter conditions. The temporary earth retention system which supports existing structures has been installed so excavation and foundation work can be completed at the Solids Thickening Building. There has also been a lot of discussions and planning completed for the months to come as the construction work will start to have a greater impact on wastewater process. The WWTF needs to continually meet its effluent permit limits even when existing processes are being modified so it is crucial for the contractor to work with the plant operators and engineer when sequencing the construction activities.
The project is expected to be completed in late 2024. An expansion of Owatonna’s existing wastewater treatment plant was initiated in 2017. The plant has been operating at or above its capacity for the past several years. In 2021, plans got underway to expand the plant from its current capacity of five million gallons per day (MGD) to more than nine MGD, an 80 percent increase to continue meeting the needs of the growing community.
Project Funding
Below are short videos provided by Nero Engineering showing the progress on the expansion project.