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Fontana, Walworth plan upgrades at wastewater plant

SHARON TOWNSHIP — Residential customers in Fontana and Walworth soon could see the sewer portion of their utility bills increase if the state Department of Natural Resources approves improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.

The improvements are necessary to replace aging equipment, said Dean Donner, plant superintendent.

"This plant is 24 years old, and the life expectancy of this equipment is 15 to 20 years," he said, "so we're kind of running on borrowed time here."

The upgrades would provide capacity for future growth and ensure continued effective treatment of wastewater, Donner said.

The plant on Piscasaw Creek in Sharon Township serves the villages of Fontana and Walworth as well as Kikkoman Foods.

The cost of the project is estimated at $6.7 million and would be shared among the three customers.

As much as half the cost of the project could be offset with federal stimulus money because the project is in the top five among Wisconsin projects ready to go and eligible under the federal stimulus plan, Donner said.

"We stand a pretty good chance of getting the money," he said. "We had planned for the project long before we knew about the grant, but we're lucky it happened at the same time."

But because of the anticipated increase in electrical consumption at the plant after the upgrade, sewer bills could increase, Donner said. For a typical residential customer, bills could go from $41 to $53 a month in Fontana and from $28 to $33 a month in Walworth.

The proposed improvements include:

-- Replacing the pump that brings sewage into the treatment plant.

-- Installing a new mechanical bar screen, which sifts out large material.

-- Constructing a third oxidation ditch, a large basin where bacteria break down waste.

-- Building a new final clarifier, a tank where bacteria and other materials settle out of the treated wastewater. Some of that sludge is pumped back into the oxidation ditch to ensure a healthy population of active bacteria. The remainder is used to fertilize farmland.

-- Replacing the pump that removes sludge from the treatment plant.

-- Installing an ultraviolet disinfection system to kill pathogenic bacteria in the treated wastewater.

-- Purchasing a tractor to haul sludge away from the plant and building a garage to store the tractor.

-- Adding onto the laboratory, where scientists test the sewage and wastewater for reports to the state.

-- Miscellaneous mechanical, electrical and structural upgrades.

The Fontana/Walworth Water Pollution Control Commission, which oversees the wastewater treatment plant, has requested DNR approval of the project.

The DNR is ready to approve the project but is required to seek comments about potential impact on the environment, said Gerald Novotny, wastewater engineer.

The DNR doesn't anticipate the project having a significant environmental impact, but the public could alert the department to something important, Novotny said.

"If someone were to say they know about something maybe we don't, this an opportunity for us to find out," he said.

The DNR expects to approve the project by June 30, Novotny said, and work at the wastewater treatment plant could begin late this year, Donner said.