JEFF GRANIT staff Ron Ingram, the operator in charge at the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority headquarters, Manalapan, oversees conditions at facilities outside the plant. This work station will be reproduced in a new control panel that is part of a planned capital improvements project. MANALAPAN – With much of its infrastructure now in a fourth decade of operation, officials of the Western Monmouth Utilities Authority (WMUA) are planning a $7.3 million capital improvement project that will replace and upgrade various parts of the operation.
The WMUA, with headquarters on Pension Road, provides waste water treatment service for about 27,500 residential and commercial customers inManalapan, Marlboro, Englishtown and Freehold Township.
The WMUAis guided by Executive Director Michael A. Dimino and a board of commissioners made up of two residents of Manalapan and two residents of Marlboro.
Plans call for the authority to fund the $7.3 million worth of planned capital improvements through the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust. Dimino said 50 percent of the cost will come in a federal loan at 0 percent interest and 50 percent of the cost will come in a state loan at market rate.
Customer rates will not increase as a result of the project, according to Dimino, who said the loans will be repaid as part of the authority’s regular annual operating expenses.
Dimino said the WMUA could close on the loan in November, bid the work as one project in February and begin construction by April 2009. The project would be expected to take between 18 and 24 months to complete, he said.
According to Dimino, the capital improvements will accomplish the following:
• Cost savings.
• Improved safety of WMUA personnel.
• Increased energy efficiency.
• Increased environmental quality.
• Operational enhancements.
The capital improvements project has several components. They are:
• Headworks improvements at the waste water treatment plant off Pension Road. This is the first step in the treatment process and the present equipment puts employees in potentially unsafe working conditions, according to Dimino. The improvements will rectify that situation. The cost of this work is estimated at $2.8 million.
• Evacuation and re-establishment of the reed beds, which is another part of the treatment process. The existing 14 reed beds have been loaded with digested sludge over the past 15 years. All beds are near full capacity and unusable. This project will make seven of the reed beds available. The cost of this work is estimated at $1.3 million.
• Pressure filter improvements. In another step in the treatment process, this project includes replacing pressure filter media in tanks and 43 control valves. Dimino said the pressure filter media have not been replaced in at least 30 years. The cost of this work is estimated at $488,000.
• Aeration system improvements will yield an estimated energy savings of $100,000 annually as constant speed motors are replaced with variable frequency drives that will be used in this energy-intensive part of the treatment process, according to the executive director. The cost of this work is estimated at $396,000.
• Replacement of electrical transfer switches for existing equipment. The switches have been in operation for more than 30 years. The cost of this work is estimated at $274,000.
• Digester cover repair includes complete structural repair of the existing digester cover – another piece of equipment in the treatment process. Work includes replacement of rusted and warped steel tracks and rollers. The cost of this work is estimated at $425,000.
• Main control panel replacement at the waste water treatment plant. According to the WMUA, the existing main control panel is antiquated and in need of replacement. New controls will be current industry standard using desktop comput ers. The cost of this work is estimated at $152,000.
Jeff Meyer, a spokesman for the WMUA, said the planned capital improvement project is “a critical investment to maintain the WMUA’s reliable service, continued operation and tough environmental standards. With a 30-year-old plant, the commissioners felt that this capital improvement project was absolutely necessary to guarantee the ratepayers continued service. This is a win-win situation for the WMUA and its ratepayers.”