Emerald Coast Utilities Authority

Riders on the stormSteve Holcomb of Emerald Coast Utilities Authority explains to Andrew Pelis the steps the authority is taking to recover from the damage from recent hurricanes. Florida has endured more than its fair share of hurricane damage over the past decade. One area that has learned harsh lessons from storm damage has been Escambia County and the City of Pensacola.The efforts of Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA) have culminated in the next phase of an exciting project to replace its Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant and deliver improved wastewater services at lower operating costs, with less environmental effects because of direct surface water discharge, for up to 60,000 residential, commercial and industrial users. Helping to oversee this vast project, Steve Holcomb, manager of water reclamation engineering, has been involved in all aspects since its inception in 2003. ÔÇ£WeÔÇÖve learned a lot from the rash of storms earlier this decade,ÔÇØ he states. ÔÇ£In anticipation of the probability of an increase in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes, over the past 15 years weÔÇÖve closed down a couple of treatment plants, undertaken major renovation and upgrades of our existing wastewater treatment facilities, and significantly increased the number of sewage pumping stations. Our customer base on the sewage side has grown on the order of around 25 to 30 percent in the last few years. WeÔÇÖve upgraded and improved the efficiency and the treatment capabilities of all three of our current wastewater treatment plants, and weÔÇÖve seen notable improvements in the local environment because of the changes.ÔÇØThe Main Street project initially got under way in 2003 prior to the hurricanes that would later cause significant damage to the existing site. At that time, ECUA directed its consulting engineers to undertake a feasibility study, looking at the most cost-effective options for rebuilding or replacing the Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, which had been operational since 1937. The hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 underscored the urgency of making changes or preferably replacing the Main Street plant.Plants are generally built for a 50-year lifespan, and with advancements in technology and new strategies for treating and disposing of wastewater, the old site had become outdated. The arrival of Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 released raw sewage into streets, and the plant effectively shut down for three days, as if to reinforce the need for a new direction. So the engineering team of Baskerville-Donovan and Hatch-Mott MacDonald concluded that developing a new site had become a priority, and with input from engineers such as Holcomb, it set about developing a facilities plan.The plan considered several major components, including the replacement plant site selection, the determination of current and future sewage flows and concentrations, raw wastewater transmission system, treatment process alternatives, the treatment plant support buildings, a reclaimed water transmission system, effluent disposal and solids handling.This became the blueprint for the project, as 23 initial prospective sites were systematically whittled down to a 307-acre parcel off the Old Chemstrand Road. The criteria for the location of the new plant were strictÔÇönot just to satisfy the local government body, but also to help secure substantial funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has reached approximately $150 million.ÔÇ£The original FEMA approval was for repair and construction of some protective features of the existing Main Street plant. Once they were approved we felt it made a lot more sense to ask for that money to be converted to a replacement project rather than keep maintaining the Main Street plant in its current location, which we now know is vulnerable to tropical storms. It made sense to use that money and build a new facility out of harmÔÇÖs way.ÔÇØThe next phase of the project is the construction of buildings, with up to 15 permanent buildings due to be built, mainly at the new treatment plant site. This requires significant investment, and Holcomb estimates that up to $100 million has been spent on new equipment and construction. ÔÇ£One of the big factors in this business is how well a piece of equipment will survive and continue its function after many years of use. We look closely at the durability and reliability of equipment; many improvements have been made in these areas. The machinery has also reduced timescales. We selected an engineering consulting team with depth, resources and experience. We have benefited from their expertise and experience, and we have equipment that we have a lot of confidence in. The design will facilitate the maintenance of the equipment and facilities.ÔÇØGiven the amount of work involved in the construction of the new pump stations and the installation of new pipelines, approximately 15 construction contracts will be awarded, which will have met the approval of the five elected ECUA Board members.ECUA currently serves between 55,000 and 60,000 sewer customers, and it is anticipated that the new plant will serve up to 50,000 of these, with the ability to serve more. All the new major components of the replacement project include emergency generators designed to operate during periods of extended power outages.Aside from obtaining necessary funding, Holcomb explains that the main challenge to the project has been obtaining easements to lay portions of the new transmission linesÔÇöessential to moving wastewater in such flat terrain. ÔÇ£Our new transmission lines utilize public rights-of-way and those of other utilities. Our local power company has easements throughout the area for its transmission lines, but much of the new pipelines to the new facility required permission and easement from other landowners. We have had to obtain over 100 different easements from over 100 different parcels along the transmission routes, which has proved challenging in determining what we do with the effluent from the plant and how we dispose of or reuse it.ÔÇØWith easements in place, construction is due to commence by the end of 2008. Overall, the project has a cost estimated at $315 million to date, and the four main contracts awarded represent about two-thirds of the overall cost. Downward trends in construction costs have also played a part in reducing overheads. The project is due for completion by the end of 2010.So what then? ÔÇ£Afterward, we have to build three new pumping stations. Because of the flat terrain we have in service around 340 pump stations (not including privately owned stations), and there is going to be a lot of time spent maintaining those systems. We also have to modify up to another 30 existing pump stations to more efficiently move sewage to the new plant,ÔÇØ concludes Holcomb.The environment remains important to ECUA, and solutions are currently being discussed with organizations to reuse the high-quality effluent water. Planning for the eventual 100 percent reuse of the plant effluent was a goal set early in the project planning. ┬á