|
For more than a year, Silt's Board of Trustees has been receiving information about its aging and struggling water treatment plant. In February 2022, the Town engaged Dewberry engineers to study both the water and wastewater plants. It found critical problems with the water plant that should be addressed sooner than later.
In October, the Town contracted with Dewberry to develop a plan to improve water in Silt and to shepherd the Town through the labyrinth of financial and regulatory hurdles to get the work engineered, designed, scheduled, built and paid for.
At its November 28 Board meeting, Trustees heard from Patrick Radabaugh, an engineer from Dewberry and the Town's financial consultant, Jim Mann. After the presentation, the Trustees were clear with the consultants and staff that the price for the improvements was too high and directed that efforts be made to reduce the scope and price of the project.
In the meantime, the Town will continue with its loan application with the State of Colorado's water resources authority, the gatekeeper of the Federal Government's new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds. The Town intends to tap these funds to the extent it can for this project.
To that end, an open house will be held to inform citizens and solicit public input regarding the Town of Silt Water Treatment Plant Improvements and Project Needs Assessment (PNA). The PNA is a report that discusses the rationale for the Water Treatment Plant Improvements Project. The report has been submitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to qualify the Town of Silt for a State Revolving Fund (SRF) Loan.
The PNA details the need for improvements to the Town of Silt Water Treatment Plant. The improvements will replace the existing membrane filtration system with a new pretreatment and filtration system that will improve the reliability of treatment, improve treatment for taste and odor, increase potable water system resilience, and accommodate future growth.
The Town’s consultant, Dewberry Engineers, submitted an opinion of probable construction cost of $28 million for the Water Treatment Plant improvements project. Town Staff and engineers will be on hand to discuss the plan for improving water in Silt.
The open house will be held:
Date: December 19, 2022
Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Location: Silt Town Center
Address: 600 Home Avenue, Silt, Colorado
Copies of the PNA and the Dewberry study will be available for public review prior to the Open House at Silt Town Hall and at www.townofsilt.org.
The points of contact for the Town of Silt are Trey Fonner, Public Works Director and Jeff Layman, Town Manager, 970-876-2353.
|
|
