Ames in need of new water plant, officials say
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The city of Ames water and pollution control department is looking to create a new building to better serve the city’s needs.
“We are in the process of evaluating the need for a new water treatment plant,” said John Dunn, director of the water and pollution control plant.
The plant brought in a group of consultants to evaluate the condition of the plant.
They assisted in determining whether to repair the existing plant or move to a new location altogether, Dunn said.
The consultants determined that the plant cannot be salvaged for a number of reasons.
Christina Murphy, water and pollution control assistant director said the current site lacks the ability to expand because it is located in a residential area.
Also because of the design of the current plant, it would be required to shut down temporarily in order to do any extensive repairs. Murphy said the plant can only be shut down for a maximum 12 hours at a time before negatively impacting the community.
Because the existing plant has had so many expansions and renovations, it is extremely difficult to access the original core part of the plant for maintenance, Murphy said.
She said it is important to consider the well-being of future generations when dealing with issues like this one.
“We’re using the investment of our parents, our grandparents, and for some of us our great grandparents and we are at the point that we need to invest for our future generations,” she said.
The current plant is a product of over 70 years of additions and renovations. The original plant was constructed in 1924. Later the filtration system was added in 1927, and lime softening was added in 1932. Since 1932 the plant has been expanded about every 10 to 15 years.
Damage caused by years of wear and tear on the plant is clearly visible throughout the facility. There is no “smoking gun” that indicates the need for a new plant, but all the smaller issues combined do, Dunn said.
“It’s just almost impossible to keep up with it,” he said, describing the current plant’s condition as “an engineer’s nightmare.”
Many areas of the plant are extremely crowded, with narrow stairways and doorways.
“Firefighters don’t like to come down here...they would get trapped,” Murphy said of what is called the “pipe gallery” in the basement of the plant.
In this area of the plant, maintenance workers have to stand on some of the pipes in order to get to other pipes and controls.
In addition to being extremely crowded, many of the tanks are leaking, creating stalactites and stalagmites from the lime deposits on the ceiling and floors underneath the tanks. Murphy said this is not uncommon for plants built around the same time as the Ames plant, but perhaps the extent is a bit more than average.
Throughout the plant the cement is crumbling away. Electrical equipment is located in the same areas as the water treatment, which is something that was acceptable at the time the plant was built, but would not be acceptable if it were built today, Murphy said. He also said in addition to the equipment being in slightly inappropriate locations, the entire electrical system needs to be replaced entirely.
There are several areas of the plant in which the plant’s insurance company is concerned about the lack of sprinkler systems. Installing a sprinkler system would cost upwards of $150,000, Dunn said.
Thousands of water treatment plants were constructed at the same time as the Ames plant in the late 1920’s, and they are all experiencing similar problems, he said.
Phil Propes, plant superintendent, was quick to assure that “aging infrastructure has no bearing on the quality of the water.”
Ames has always produced a high quality of water, with award winning taste, Murphy said. The high quality of Ames water is due to “a wonderful well supply” and the “lime-softening treatment that is done to the water,” Propes said.
Constructing a new water treatment plant would be a $45 – 50 million feat, Dunn said. The location of the proposed new plant has not yet been determined.
This new plant would be built to sustain the community for the next 20 – 25 years, and keep open the possibility of future expansions, which is very standard for water treatment plants, Murphy said.
If the new plant was located within one mile of the old plant, some of the existing water tanks can be utilized, saving roughly $8 million, Dunn said.
The new plant would be capable of producing up to 15 million gallons of water per day, whereas the current plant has a maximum 12 million gallons per day capability.
“Nobody ever thought we’d ever get 12 million gallons through here [in one day],” Propes said.
Funding for the proposed new plant would come from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which would save $1.2 million in interest per year, Dunn said.
Dunn estimated, for an average household, monthly water rates would increase about 10 – 15 percent per year, resulting in a 35 percent increase in rates and $5 – 6 per month more for residents when all is said and done.
“We are in the process of evaluating the need for a new water treatment plant,” said John Dunn, director of the water and pollution control plant.
The plant brought in a group of consultants to evaluate the condition of the plant.
They assisted in determining whether to repair the existing plant or move to a new location altogether, Dunn said.
The consultants determined that the plant cannot be salvaged for a number of reasons.
Christina Murphy, water and pollution control assistant director said the current site lacks the ability to expand because it is located in a residential area.
Also because of the design of the current plant, it would be required to shut down temporarily in order to do any extensive repairs. Murphy said the plant can only be shut down for a maximum 12 hours at a time before negatively impacting the community.
Because the existing plant has had so many expansions and renovations, it is extremely difficult to access the original core part of the plant for maintenance, Murphy said.
She said it is important to consider the well-being of future generations when dealing with issues like this one.
“We’re using the investment of our parents, our grandparents, and for some of us our great grandparents and we are at the point that we need to invest for our future generations,” she said.
The current plant is a product of over 70 years of additions and renovations. The original plant was constructed in 1924. Later the filtration system was added in 1927, and lime softening was added in 1932. Since 1932 the plant has been expanded about every 10 to 15 years.
Damage caused by years of wear and tear on the plant is clearly visible throughout the facility. There is no “smoking gun” that indicates the need for a new plant, but all the smaller issues combined do, Dunn said.
“It’s just almost impossible to keep up with it,” he said, describing the current plant’s condition as “an engineer’s nightmare.”
Many areas of the plant are extremely crowded, with narrow stairways and doorways.
“Firefighters don’t like to come down here...they would get trapped,” Murphy said of what is called the “pipe gallery” in the basement of the plant.
In this area of the plant, maintenance workers have to stand on some of the pipes in order to get to other pipes and controls.
In addition to being extremely crowded, many of the tanks are leaking, creating stalactites and stalagmites from the lime deposits on the ceiling and floors underneath the tanks. Murphy said this is not uncommon for plants built around the same time as the Ames plant, but perhaps the extent is a bit more than average.
Throughout the plant the cement is crumbling away. Electrical equipment is located in the same areas as the water treatment, which is something that was acceptable at the time the plant was built, but would not be acceptable if it were built today, Murphy said. He also said in addition to the equipment being in slightly inappropriate locations, the entire electrical system needs to be replaced entirely.
There are several areas of the plant in which the plant’s insurance company is concerned about the lack of sprinkler systems. Installing a sprinkler system would cost upwards of $150,000, Dunn said.
Thousands of water treatment plants were constructed at the same time as the Ames plant in the late 1920’s, and they are all experiencing similar problems, he said.
Phil Propes, plant superintendent, was quick to assure that “aging infrastructure has no bearing on the quality of the water.”
Ames has always produced a high quality of water, with award winning taste, Murphy said. The high quality of Ames water is due to “a wonderful well supply” and the “lime-softening treatment that is done to the water,” Propes said.
Constructing a new water treatment plant would be a $45 – 50 million feat, Dunn said. The location of the proposed new plant has not yet been determined.
This new plant would be built to sustain the community for the next 20 – 25 years, and keep open the possibility of future expansions, which is very standard for water treatment plants, Murphy said.
If the new plant was located within one mile of the old plant, some of the existing water tanks can be utilized, saving roughly $8 million, Dunn said.
The new plant would be capable of producing up to 15 million gallons of water per day, whereas the current plant has a maximum 12 million gallons per day capability.
“Nobody ever thought we’d ever get 12 million gallons through here [in one day],” Propes said.
Funding for the proposed new plant would come from the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which would save $1.2 million in interest per year, Dunn said.
Dunn estimated, for an average household, monthly water rates would increase about 10 – 15 percent per year, resulting in a 35 percent increase in rates and $5 – 6 per month more for residents when all is said and done.
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