Four sewage plant options recommended for further study

Wednesday January 14, 2009

Geoff Hamill
Staff Writer

Thrasher Engineering, Inc., has examined 10 options for a regional sewage plant to serve the Snowshoe-Slaty Fork area and has narrowed the list down to four, the company’s representatives said Friday.

Thrasher representatives presented their findings at a special meeting of the Pocahontas Public Service District (PSD).

About 30 members of the public attended the meeting, including County Commissioner David Fleming, Bill Rock of Snowshoe Mountain Resort, George Phillips of Eight Rivers Safe Development, Inc., Lloyd Coleman of Snowshoe Water and Sewer, Inc., Tom Shipley and Amon Tracey.

Ken Moran and Dayton Carpenter, design engineers with Thrasher, presented the briefing, with assistance from PSD accountant Michael Griffith and PSD attorney Tom Michael.

The four sites recommended for further study are Sites 5, 7, 9 and 10.

Site 5 is at Slaty Fork, at the confluence of Old Field Fork and Big Spring Fork, on West Virginia Rail Authority property. The option is the least expensive option to serve the entire area, including Slaty Fork to the west. There are issues with karst features under the site and potential for flooding at the site. Site 5 is strongly opposed by conservation groups and individuals who believe that the site poses danger to the Elk River, one of the best trout fishing rivers in the eastern United States.

Site 7 is located on Snowshoe Drive near Linwood, where the road crosses Cup Run. The PSD selected Site 7 as the preferred alternative in August, but is required by law to examine different alternatives. The option covers most of the developable land in the area, but not all the way to Slaty Fork. The option requires transfer of sewage flow over karst terrain, according to the presentation.

Site 9 is a limited option that would serve Snowshoe, but not the region, with a plant in the vicinity of the existing Silver Creek plant. The plant would discharge into Black Run in the Cheat River watershed. The Site 9 option would eliminate the need to pipe sewage off the mountain but would not serve PSD customers at Hawthorne Valley and Snowshoe Inn or development in the valley.

The Site 10 option includes plants at Site 7 and Site 9, which would cover most of the developable land in the region, but not all the way to Slaty Fork. The Site 10 option would require the most pumping systems of all alternatives and is the most expensive option.

The estimated construction costs for Sites 5,7 and 9 range between $22.5 million and $30.7 million. The estimated annual operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for these alternatives are between $850,000 and $1.2 million. Site 10 construction cost is estimated between $35.9 million and $41.2 million, with estimated O&M costs between $900,000 and $1.2 million.

Each site alternative includes options which increase the price to the higher end of the estimated range. The options include a fully enclosed building, the incorporation of membrane biological reactor (MBR) technology and chillers to cool discharge water to stream temperature.

All of the sites, with the exception of Site 9, are designed to treat an average daily flow of 0.5 million gallons and a peak flow of 1.5 million gallons per day. The Site 9 option, which does not serve the valley, is designed to handle a peak flow of one million gallons.

Sites 5 and 7 discharge all treated water into the Elk River watershed. Site 9 discharges into the Cheat River watershed and Site 10, with two plants, discharges into both the Elk and the Cheat watersheds.

At the conclusion of a slide presentation on the various alternatives, Moran opened the floor for questions.

Moran responded that the PSD is required, by law, to consider different alternatives. Michael said that the PSD had selected a “preferred site” for the engineers to focus on, but that the engineering analysis could lead to selection of a different site.

Carpenter said cost estimates were accurate to within about 25 percent but Moran said the goal was to be within 10 percent.

“The quality of the water going back in the stream is probably going to be better than the native water that is there now, particularly with the MBR,” said Carpenter.

According to Carpenter, Governor Manchin told municipalities to “line up projects” for funding from economic stimulus money to be made available by the Obama administration. Carpenter and Moran said it would be a good idea for the PSD to “get in line” as soon as possible for funds, but that other funding likely would be available if the plans were submitted later.

Shipley urged the PSD not to make a hasty decision and not to create a false sense of urgency with the funding situation.

The West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council has already committed over $9.5 million to the project, according to Moran.

A number of attendees inquired about the rates to be paid by customers of the new plant.

Griffith said that previous estimates, done when the PSD was focused on Site 5, were about $50 a month for a two-bedroom dwelling or smaller, but that the new designs would be more expensive.

“I worked on the last case and what was approved at the PSC (Public Services Commission) in the last case was a $50 bill for a two-bedroom and smaller. Of course, as we have more bedrooms, it goes up incrementally. That was $50 a month for the rate that was approved and this is quite a bit more than that,” he said.

“You’re looking at upwards of $50 per month per customer no matter which of the chosen ones that you take. The difference in the top to bottom is $15 to $20 additional,” he added.

The PSD will conduct a special meeting on Thursday, January 15 at 6 p.m. at the Snowshoe Welcome Center, near Linwood, to receive public comments on the proposed alternatives.

The slideshow briefing from Friday evening can be viewed at the Eight Rivers Safe Development website, www.8riverssafedevelopment.com, in the News/Updates section. Those who wish to receive a cd in the mail from Thrasher can email a request to nkerns@thrashereng.com.