The renovation and rehabilitation of the North Koochiching Area Sewer District is on track, according to district and construction officials.
Dennis Kahlhamer, engineering technician with Widseth Smith Nolting, led a tour of the construction site Wednesday.
The $14 million project is expected to be completed in 2014 and was prompted by the need for a new permit that requires the plant to reduce the discharge of phosphorus and mercury into Rainy River.
District officials say the changes will also make the plant more efficient, improve the quality of water leaving the plant, and increase the plant’s capacity to handle additional sewage amounts. The aging facility, half of which was constructed in 1950 and the other half in 1985, has been operating well, but because of the need for the permit, agreed to renovate the plant to avoid future problems. Renovation was much cheaper than building a new plant, estimated at $30 million to $30,000.
Kahlhamer said the project is about 40 to 50 percent complete and on schedule.
“By next May we have to have the building on that side ready for the pretreatment,” he said. “There are milestones we must meet to move on to the next phase. I’m thinking a year from now we will be planting seed and paving roads.”
Kahlhamer said no surprises in the project have occurred. “We don’t have x-ray glasses to look inside concrete, so whenever parts of an aging facility are demolished to make way for new construction you never know what you might find,” he said.
Tim “Chopper” McBride, NKASD executive director, said much of the tour focused on the filtration system being constructed that will remove mercury and phosphorus from the discharge.
While McBride said he’s glad the project is meeting specified time lines, he wished it was a bit further ahead as the winter months approach.
“People don’t realize what the weather can do up here,” he said. “But I am glad we are on schedule.”
In addition to the treatment plant tour, officials walked through the treatment plant’s new district office, which will be located in the former Border Patrol building adjacent to the plant.
The building was provided to the district through a federal government building program directed by General Services Administration.
International Falls had asked the sewer district to find new quarters a few years ago as it worked toward a remodel of the city’s water office. The city plans to make the water office more user friendly and will need the space that is now the district’s office, located in the basement of the Falls Municipal Building, for storage during the remodel project.
The renovation at the sewer district’s new office involves making air quality and heating and cooling systems meet government requirements, as well as meeting mandates involved in making it accessible to people with handicaps.
The district’s office will remain in the municipal building temporarily until the renovations at the former Border Patrol building are complete, McBride said.
