The Centralia City Council was told during a work session Monday night that city’s nearly 100 year old water plant was not in imminent danger of failing but had only a minimum life remaining.
Mike Curry of Curry and Associates says based on other recent water plant projects he’d estimate the cost of a new plant at $20-million.
“The structural condition of the east wall of the square settling basins is a concern. It started to fail back when Brian Copple was the Public Works Director. What they did was just pile dirt up to stabilize it. I don’t think we are going to have any earthquakes but any tremor could cause a sudden failure. So it’s probably overall I’d say 5-10 years would be the remaining life expectancy.”
Curry says the city has room to construct the new plant on property purchased for seditation removal on the Green Street Road.
He’s recommending the city complete a conceptual design as the next step.
“If the city wants to do it you need to start moving now. I think readiness to proceed is always going to be a criteria to get grant money. If you have final plans ready to go, that’s the best of both worlds.”
Curry anticipates more money being made available for water improvement projects with increased federal spending on the infrastructure.
Curry is recommending the plant be built to allow for a greater capacity to plan for future growth. Right now the plant can produce five to six million gallons of water a day, although three-million gallons a day is the normal production. Curry says the city has authority to draw 7.5-million gallons of water a day from Carlyle Lake.
The city is also in the process of seeking grants to replace the raw waterline from Carlyle Lake which also has a limited lifetime remaining.
The council seemed to think it was a “no brainer” to proceed to conceptual design. Curry and Associates is proposing a total cost not to exceed $45,000. No action could be taken Monday night because the meeting was a workshop. However, it is expected to be on the agenda at the next meeting.
