Sarita Croce, Assistant Director of the Merrimack Public Works Department/Wastewater will be at the Library to answer any questions about the proposed Wastewater upgrade project that will be on the April 2020 Warrant Article. Please stop by and learn what this is all about.
The Town of Merrimack, owns, operates, maintains and performs capital upgrades on nine remote wastewater pump stations and a 5 million gallon per day (MGD) wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). These facilities convey and treat flow from a variety of commercial, residential and industrial sources. The two largest remote pump stations –Thornton’s Ferry Pump Station and Souhegan Pump Station – and the WWTF were brought online in 1970. Additionally, the Town also owns, operates, maintains and performs capital upgrades on a Compost Facility located on the WWTF property, including a Compost Amendment Storage Building. This facility converts dewatered biosolids from the Merrimack WWTF, as well as several WWTFs from surrounding communities, into a high-quality compost that is marketed to local and regional residential and commercial users. The Compost Facility and Compost Amendment Storage Facility were brought online in 1994.
In 2019, the Town proposed and presented to the public a project to upgrade the two remote pump stations and the WWTF. The total estimated project cost of the upgrades is $22,620,000 which includes design, construction, technical services, and all fees. Based on the size of the project, the Town chose to split appropriation of the total project cost between two warrant articles. The first warrant article for $13,100,000 was approved in April 2019 and will cover the design of the complete project and the construction cost for Thornton’s Ferry Pump Station, Souhegan Pump Station, a new influent screenings facility and Main Pump Station which is located at the WWTF. The second warrant article for an additional $9,520,000 will be included on the ballot in April 2020 to cover the construction cost of the remaining scope items at the WWTF.
The three main goals for this project are as follows:
• Replacing equipment that is well beyond its useful and recommended life: Most of the equipment systems to be upgraded are over 30 years old and many are approaching 50 years old.
• Addressing safety concerns: Select upgrades have been included to address ongoing safety concerns related to accessibility of process spaces for equipment maintenance and structure cleaning.
• Addressing code-related deficiencies: Building and electrical codes have changed significantly since these equipment systems and buildings were originally constructed.
- From the Department of Public Works