Timing and Scope of Growth-related Sanitary Sewer projects

City staff is conducting a review of the timing and scope of a number of growth-related sanitary sewer projects as we continuously evaluate the need for facility improvements in light of community growth projections and patterns.  This review includes the timing and scope of the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility (WWRF) and related improvements particularly focused on the Four Seasons pump station facility generally located west of Kasold near 31^st Street.   Because of a recent slow down in growth, the sizing of certain facilities may need to be altered along with the timing of when these facilities will be in place.  Staff plans to have these issues on a City Commission December agenda to seek direction from the Commission.  Staff believes its recommendations will focus on the continued implementation of the West Baldwin Creek facilities and the beginning of the Four Season pump station facility improvements as previously outlined.  We are in consultation with the design consultant for West Baldwin Creek to modify our delivery system for this project to seek bidding on this project in the early part of 2008.  This will be among the Commission decisions on this issue in December.

We are also likely to recommend additional study on the timing and scope of the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility.   This will mean that we will hold on proceeding with additional design until later in 2008.  We are better poised today to undertake additional study that would reevaluate overall system needs. We have completed technical GPS/GIS work and have a comprehensive map and database of system asset details identified to make hydraulic network models and runs extremely accurate. Additionally, the permanent flow meter program has been in place for more than a year continuously monitoring over 25 key points across the system. This flow data is the base information on which current system capacity and utilization is evaluated. We have never had this quality and quantity of information available for use in a Master Facilities Plan. In fact few communities have this quality of information available. With this data collected and available staff has completed much of the upfront work required to update our captial project plans to evaluate system needs and reaffirm, modify, or adjust the timing and scope of the WWRF and all other CIP projects for the wastewater system. This high level of system and flow data potentially offers the option of accurately modeling various development scenarios and providing recommendations for improvements to serve the community.