White

THOMASVILLE — Hurricane Michael did not damage the City of Thomasville waste water treatment facility (WWTF), but the October 2018 storm alerted city officials to what a repeat of the devastating weather could do to city infrastructure.

After investigating the WWTF, city personnel recognized the facility — about 60 years old — faces major structural issues.

According to the city, very old concrete components have deteriorated and are in imminent danger of failing. Without making improvements, the city runs the risk of catastrophic consequences following the next disaster, and there will be no reserve treatment capacity to market future opportunities for growth, such as new and expanding businesses.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has given the city a mandate.

“They gave us notice June 1 (2019) we had 36 months to be in compliance,” said Chris White, executive director of city utilities.

Federal, state and Florida environmental agencies are in the process of setting Ochlockonee River basin-related rulings that will lower the effective reserve treatment capacity of the WWTF.

On Monday, city council approved a resolution to apply to the U.S. Economic Development Administration for a grant that would pay for 80 percent of needed WWTF work. The city would be responsible for 20 percent of the cost.

Council action approved a second resolution for the city to apply for a Georgia Environmental Finance Authority loan to fund the city’s share of WTTF work.

It is estimated $1.5 million is required for structural work, and $6 million is needed for WWTF process upgrades to recover full permitted flow and increase the city’s estimated reserve treatment capacity.

If received, the grant would fund $5.7 million of the work, with the city’s share at $2.1 million.

White said the city has about 8,000 sewer customers and a 163-mile sewer collection system through which 3.5 million gallons of waste flow daily to the WWTF.

The sewer system and WWTF would accommodate 5 million gallons daily after improvements.

White said that during the improvement project, sewage must still go the the WWTF. Bypasses will be constructed to take the waste to the WWTF at County Line Road and the north bypass.

White said city officials looked at innovative ways to pay for the WWTF work instead of increasing sewer bills.

Pointing out thousands of lengthy Thomasville Utilities power outages, fallen trees, loss of cable television and the Internet as a result of Michael, White said the WWTF must be able to weather a storm of the hurricane’s magnitude.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820