J.H.G. Contractors, Frederick, received
a $426,790 contract to address the portion of the wastewater
collection system along Creamery Road, including the forced
main line from the pumping station to the wastewater treatment
plant.
Losing the bid to J.H.G. was W.F. Delauter
& Son, Thurmont, who bid $517,224. This was the town’s
second attempt to get an approvable bid on the project.
In the first round, Delauter was the sole bidder at $735,105,
well over the project’s estimated cost. The town rejected
that bid in December 2005.
The expenditures will be covered by a community
development block grant (CDBG) awarded to Emmitsburg in
December to improve the wastewater collection system. (See
related story, “Town
awarded $656,000 sewer grant” in the Dec.
15, 2005 issue of The Dispatch).
Town Manager David Haller told The Dispatch
that, generally, the work encompasses converting the line
from the pumping station to the treatment plant to an all-pressure
line.
At present, the portion of the line coming
from the pumping station is pressurized. At a vault located
on the Waybright property, the line becomes a gravity line
leading to the treatment plant.
Unfortunately for the environment and town
coffers, a valve intended to regulate the transition of
the wastewater from pressurized to gravity flow was apparently
never installed in that vault, leading to numerous wastewater
spills with accompanying fines from the Maryland Department
of the Environment (MDE).
Not only will the “missing”
valve be installed, but the line from the pumping station
to the treatment plant will become all pressurized, eliminating
the gravity flow portion of the system.
However, further modifications are needed
to handle an all-pressure line system. To prevent surges
of high wild water intrusion, a controller will be installed
at the pump station. At the treatment plant, incoming pressurized
sewage will be discharged into the bottom of a lagoon containing
about 14 feet of wastewater. The standing wastewater is
intended to offset the pressure of the incoming stream of
waste.
Additional work is proposed that would allow
the storage of several million gallons of wastewater if
it built up during a severe wild water incident.
