Much-awaited treatment plant should begin construction in three months

By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

RESERVE – Plans are nearing completion, and construction is about three months away on a new, long overdue sewer treatment plant for St. John the Baptist Parish.

District 7 Councilman Steve Lee said the plant is in the last stages of engineering and on target 100 percent.

&#8220It’s moving along real well,” said Lee. &#8220It really was a well thought out plan.”

The plant, which will send treated water directly to the Mississippi River, will be built in Reserve at the oxidation pond north of Airline Highway and east of Central Avenue. Estimated cost to the parish ranges between $10 million to $15 million.

Engineers for URS Corporation, the plant contractors, had to redesign the plant to support four million gallons per day so that the parish sewer treatment output would meet the 13 million gallon per day requirement mandated by the State Department of Heath and Hospitals (DHH).

Mike Patorno, professional engineer for URS, and program manager for the project, said plans and specifications for the plant were broken down into two phases that are both nearing completion.

&#8220Phase one, which involved filling a portion of the pond, excavating it, and preparing it for the building phase is complete,” said Patorno. &#8220It is in the review process, and should be done in a couple of weeks.”

Patorno said phase two, involving the mechanics and building specifications, is also in the final throes of engineering, and awaiting DHH approval. Patorno said once everything clears approval, construction would commence.

After reviewing a report from Parish Engineer Chuck Savoie, the Parish Council decided to build a mechanical plant similar to the others in St. John Parish instead of opting for a new state of the art system developed by Comite Resources Inc.

Savoie said the state of the art system would have been about half the cost of a traditional plant, but was concerned it would fail to meet DHH health requirements because it would use a pond that had not been aerated in 15 years. His assessment satisfied most members of the board, who just wanted to see some progress in a discussion that has lasted several years.

&#8220This parish does not have the luxury of experimentation,” said Lee. &#8220The mechanical plant is cleaner, and a sure-fire method that works.”

Patorno said final designs and plans should be done by November or December of 2007.

Savoie said bids for construction would probably go out by March of 2008, and estimated it would take two years to complete.