July 2011
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Over the last year, the City has con-
ducted both in-house evaluations and
consulted with state agencies to deter-
mine the need for increased water pro-
duction from the Trinity River Authority
water plant and the City’s wells.
A system capacity study conducted by
Crespo Consulting - which sites Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality
standards - has indicated an increase
in capacity is necessary to meet cur-
rent and future water needs for City
residents. The City's current water us-
age records have also shown a need
for additional capacity.
With these
facts in
mind, the
City is
considering
a $16.5
million TRA
plant expansion package which may
be approved by voters later this year.
According to Carol Reed, Public Utili-
ties Director, the expansion would ef-
fectively increase water production
capacity from a firm capacity of six
million gallons daily to a firm capacity
of 12 million gallons daily and address
several key concerns at the plant sim-
ultaneously.
"The primary, overriding need for ex-
pansion of the TRA water plant is to
increase its production capacity," Reed
said. "However, there are a number of
other issues at the plant that need to
be addressed, including filters, the
removal of nitrates from our water,
chlorine contact time in our existing
clearwell, the age and condition of the
high service pump station, and the
electrical system that supplies the plan.
"W e are currently looking at a plant
expansion which would cost approxi-
mately $16.5 million to complete and
would address all of these needs. We
have studied our water system and the
needs of our residents, and we feel this
plan is the best way to bring our plant's
capacity to the needed level."
Getting started
Given voter approval, which would
come following an election in Novem-
ber of this year, the plan to make ex-
pansions at the TRA plant would have
to meet TCEQ approval.
The TCEQ approval process, Reed
said, would take a minimum of 90 days
as the essence of the expansion goes
beyond making basic improvements.
"If we move forward with the plant ex-
pansion, we would need to get TCEQ
approval because the changes we're
suggesting go beyond normal im-
provements," she said. "We're not
just updating one or more compo-
nents to stay at the same level of
production, but changing our capacity
and altering the output of the entire
plant.
"Basically, the type of changes being
made are completely different than
updates or improvements, so the
design changes that need to be com-
pleted will take a few months before
we can even consider bidding out the
project."
After the
T C E Q
a p p r o v a l
and
d e s i g n
p r o c e s s ,
Reed said the earliest she could see
construction beginning at the plant
would be March 2012.
"If we get approval from our voters
and work with TCEQ on mapping out
the expansion process, we could
begin this multi-year process around
March of next year," Reed said. "At
this point, I feel like a time period of
two to three years might be a realistic
goal for completing the expansion.
"We wanted to have the expansion
completely paid off over the next
eight years, and I can say with confi-
dence that Huntsville would benefit
from the expansion long before that
time has passed."
Specific alterations
From the pumps that bring water from
the Trinity River into the TRA plant to
the high service pump station that
sends water to the City for use, sev-
eral key changes will be made as part
of the expansion process.
"To start from the beginning of the
water treatment process, we would
first begin the expansion by adding
another intake pump to our existing
set of three pumps," Reed said. "Our
30" raw water pipeline, which trans-
ports water from the Trinity River to
the plant, would also be improved.
"In 1998, the first 900 feet of the pipe-
line was replaced with a higher pres-
sure rated 36" pipe, while the rest of
the pipe was not replaced. With this
expansion, an additional 2,000 feet of
pipe would be upgraded in the same
$I would expect [this expansion of the TRA
water plant] to carry us well into the future."
Keith Bass, former TRA water plant manager
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manner."
The filter system used to purify the water would also be expanded,
Reed said.
"There would be a two-fold purpose in expanding our current filter
system," she said. "First, the new filters would be used to increase
our capacity to 12 MGD, but also, they would filter nitrates from our
water, which is a current state requirement.
"We would accomplish this by adding two filters to decrease turbid-
ity - basically, dirt levels in our water - and two filters to address
nitrate removal."
Next on the list of expansion items would be the plant's clearwell, a
large, circular container capable of holding 1.2 million gallons of
water while it is being treated with chlorine.
"We don't plan on tearing down our existing clearwell," Reed said.
"Instead, we're going to add another clearwell which is larger than
our current one. Our goal is to have 12 million gallons daily going
out the door, and having the second clearwell will play a critical
part in having that water ready for our citizens."
The final step in the expansion process would be to update the
high service pump station, which pumps the water from the plant to
the residents of Huntsville.
"We already have three high service pumps in place, and the ex-
pansion would require adding a fourth," Reed said. "With that
change made, we will have addressed all of the major plant
components and reached a level of production of 12 million gal-
lons daily."
Looking to the future
Keith Bass, who has worked at the TRA water plant for over 30
years, spent much of his time there as the plant's manager.
Now, as the O&M Chief of Southern Region Support Services with
the plant, Bass views the expansion as a necessary step to bring
Huntsville back to a safe water production level comparable to
similar cities.
"Having worked at the plant for a significant number of years, I've
seen the demand increase," Bass said. "From my perspective, I
feel like this expansion is necessary, because we get so close to
not being able to meet the demands of the citizens.
"I honestly wouldn't have guessed we could make it this long with-
out expansion, and if we don't complete the expansion soon, it's
my opinion that we would be putting the city [at risk]."
With the expansion completed, Bass said the City would more
than likely have the capacity necessary to support its citizens
needs for decades to come.
"Right now, we have a firm capacity of six million gallons daily,
and this expansion would double that to a 12 million gallons daily
firm capacity," he said. "I would expect that level of production to
carry us well into the future."
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