Officials to Break Ground on $62 M Wastewater Plant Upgrade
Ground will be broken on Thursday for a $62-million construction project that will improve the Columbia Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility in Columbia, Mo., according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency press release.
Federal, state and local officials will participate in a formal ceremony to announce the project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As part of the Act, Missouri received $146 million for drinking water and wastewater projects.
The project is expected to create 58 new jobs when construction starts later this month. Completion of the project is projected for the summer of 2012.
The construction project will upgrade existing treatment facilities, increase biosolids-handling capabilities, improve the liquid treatment process, and provide better odor control.
Included in the treatment plant improvements are measures to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption. High-efficiency single-stage blowers, for example, will reduce annual energy consumption by 26 percent. A new combined heat and power system will be 26 percent more efficient than the existing system.