| Too Much Sewage
CITY OF DODGE CITY Pipe Dream
City asks for help revamping sewer system
By Mark Vierthaler
Dodge City Daily Globe
Two signs announce the location of Dodge City's current wastewater treatment plant south of town along U.S. Highway 283. With a special events center and casino in the works, Dodge City's current sewer system is in need of upgrades. MARK VIERTHALER/DAILY GLOBE
Dodge City leaders have asked for help on reworking the city's current sewer plan in anticipation of costly and far-reaching improvements needed for a future developments.
Professional Engineering Consultants, the Wichita firm that recently presented the commission with an estimated $33 million price tag for required city improvements, has been asked to take a look at the city's current master sewer plan.
Joe Finley, director of engineering services, said his staff had originally planned on reworking the master sewer plan, but with the recent news regarding needed improvements, the topic seemed much more apropos.
"Based on the casino and recent developments during the last work session, we decided to maybe redefine what we wanted to do," Finley said.
The city's engineering department plumbed the city commission Monday, asking the commissioners to name their concerns when it came to an overall sewer plan.
Commissioner Rick Sowers said his main concern was how far-reaching the plan would be and if it would take into consideration the expansions that both casino developers have planned.
Secondly, he wanted to make sure there was some way the improvements and expansion could use treated water commonly referred to as gray water.
The current wastewater treatment plant, which sits about 12 miles south of Dodge City, handles roughly 4.83 million gallons of wastewater every day. The plant treats everything from raw sewage to dishwasher runoff, with half of the intake coming from Dodge City's two beef-packing plants.
After the water runs through treatment, it comes to rest in three lagoons. This gray water is then used to irrigate nearby farmland which grows crops not used for human consumption.
However, with a nearly 20 percent jump in sewage usage expected to come with a special events center and casino, current sewage lines and storage wouldn't be able to keep up.
Mayor Kent Smoll said the issue was more a matter of how the city was going to upgrade the sewer plan rather than why.
"We need to design a whole plan on how we're going to plan this in 18 to 24 months," he said.
Discussion of a new sewage treatment plant, similar to the one used south of town, has most officials leaning towards building it north of the city.
Smoll said he'd also like PEC to give some figures on how the water would flow, giving the city some idea of whether a northern treatment plant would be efficient.
Commissioner Jim Sherer said he'd also like to see OMI, which manages the current treatment plant, have some say in the process.
Although the contract with PEC was not approved Monday night, Finley said he would take the commissioners' suggestions back to the company.
Smoll said he wanted to stress to taxpayers that although the price tag for improvements was high, the city was trying its hardest to find ways to save money.
"The casino will negotiate a portion of the infrastructure costs," he said. "Hopefully, we'll have a benefit district (special taxes on retailers who build in the area) and we can use some 'Why Not Dodge?' money.
----------
More "Why Not Dodge Money"? I think the casino and the developer needs to pay for it. And they are going to put it North of Dodge? Yeah, just what we need, to be totally surrounded by crap and smell! If the packing plants would do some on-site treatment, it wouldn't overload the lagoon systems so much.  |