As DeKalb Utility District approaches a golden anniversary, it is marking another important milestone with the launch of its new water treatment plant. For the first time in its 50 year history, the DUD is now producing water on its own for the 5,300 customers it serves in either all or portions of DeKalb, Smith, Cannon, and Wilson counties.
DUD, which has been buying water from Smithville for many years, will officially cut ties with the city this week although the new DUD water plant, located on Yulonda Hills Road off Holmes Creek Road, has been fully operational for two weeks. It’s the culmination of a plan which has been in the works for several years. The project would have been completed sooner but for legal battles with others including the City of Smithville which tried to stop it.
Last Thursday, DUD Manager Jon Foutch and Andy Jacobs, certified operator, took WJLE on a tour of the new “superpulsator” water plant. (VIEW PHOTOS AND A DESCRIPTION OF WATER PLANT COMPONENTS SHOWN HERE)
Groundbreaking for the facility was held in July, 2015.
The 2.0 million gallon per day water treatment plant (all under one roof) is the centerpiece of the project which also includes a new raw water intake structure and pump station on the Holmes Creek Embayment of the lake, an 18-inch diameter raw water transmission line from the pump station to the water plant, an 18-inch diameter finished water transmission line along Holmes Creek Road, Allen’s Ferry Road, and U.S. Highway 70; and new 8-inch diameter water distribution lines along Dry Creek Road, Game Ridge Road, Turner Road, Willis McGinnis Road, and Sparta Highway (Highway to Midway).
Foutch told WJLE that the plant is built for future expansion if the need should arise. “We are permitted through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pull 2.0 million gallons per day. Our plant can treat up to 3.0 million gallons per day. Currently, our average use is between 900,000 and 1.0 million gallons per day,” he said.
After water from the lake is pumped from the intake to the treatment plant, a chemical is added and a flocculent is used. The water then goes into the superpulsator—a technology that utilizes a flocculation/clarification unit to remove color, turbidity and organic materials. After the solids formed by the superpulsator process fall to the bottom of the pulsator, the water goes through a conventional high-rate filtration step. Next, the water enters the plant clear well, and is disinfected, not with chlorine gas as some water plants use, but through a bleach generation system. The bleach is produced on site from a salt brine solution. The finished water is then ready to pump out to the distribution lines and storage tanks. Emergency generators at the intake and plant will keep the system operating and have already been used due to recent storms which caused power outages. The water plant also features a control room to monitor the operation and distribution system, a laboratory for water testing, and conference room.
The project was funded at $16-million dollars however the DUD has not spent its total allocation.
Fund sources for the project included $5 million in loans at 2.75% interest over 38 years and $1.25 million in grants from USDA Rural Development. The utility was also approved for $500,000 in grant funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission; two loans through the State Revolving Fund Loan programs in amounts of $2 million and $7 million at .6% interest over 20 years; and a $500,000 forgiveness (grant) from the State Revolving Fund Program.
In October, 2014 the DUD awarded bids on the project. W&O Construction Company, Inc. of Livingston got the bid to build the water plant at $6.9 million. Judy Construction Company of Cynthiana, Kentucky performed construction on the raw water intake at $4.1 million and Hawkins and Price, LLC of Wartrace, Tennessee was awarded the bid for construction of the 18 inch Raw and Finished Water Transmission Lines at $1.8 million.
The original project cost was estimated to be $12-million dollars. To cover the additional costs, the DUD requested and was approved for a $4,000,000 loan increase to the Drinking Water Fund loan. (part of the funding package as referred to above)
The new DUD water treatment plant will have two full time certified operators. Andy Jacobs is already on duty and a trainee is currently working on completing his certification. In addition to Foutch, the General Manager, the DUD is staffed by five employees who answer service calls and maintain the distribution lines, three office employees, and an office manager. The utility is overseen by a five member board of directors including Roger Turney of Cannon County, who is the Board Chairman; Danny Bass of Smith County, and Joe Foutch, Hugh Washer, and Jimmy Womack of DeKalb County.
The DeKalb Utility District currently maintains more than 400 miles of main water lines in its four county service area.
(PHOTOS TO THE RIGHT CORRESPOND WITH THE PHOTO NUMBERS AND DESCRIPTIONS BELOW)
Photo #1: DUD Intake Facility at Center Hill Lake on Holmes Creek Road
Photo #2: Emergency Generator at Intake Facility. Another Generator is at the DUD Treatment Plant
Photo#3: New DUD Water Treatment Plant now in operation on Yulanda Hills Road off Holmes Creek Road
Photo #4: Basin where the water comes in and settles out. This basin is indoors under one roof. By being indoors rather than outside the water is kept out of sunlight to avoid the growth of algae, evaporation, and objects falling in the water
Photo #5: Superpulsator which contains the water basin is the center piece of the water plant and its all under one roof. It includes the basin and all the components which control water levels in the basin
Photo #6: Pipe Gallery at the bottom of the filters. Blue pipe carries good drinking water. Brown pipe transports waste water or backwash water. Green pipe is for air. The system backwashes with water and air taking the waste water out
Photo #7: Air compressor used to backwash the filters
Photo #8: The big tank is a 4,000 gallon storage tank which feeds into 120 gallon day tanks. The water is pumped from the day tanks into the water chemical injection system
Photo #9: Chemical feed area where day tanks fill up from the main tanks. The green pumps inject the chemicals into the water
Photo#10: 4,000 gallon storage tanks (each) for aluminum sulfate used in the water purification process and for caustic soda which adjusts the ph value of the water
Photo#11: Bleach generation system. DUD does not use chlorine gas. Bleach is used to disinfect the water to kill bacteria. The 9% bleach is produced on site from a salt brine solution
Photo #12: 40 ton silo behind the water plant building holds salt solution used to produce the bleach for disinfecting the water
Photo#13: Variable speed high service pumps. Each capable of pumping 1400 gallons of water per minute
Photo#14: Another view of the 1400 gallon a minute high service pumps and the line as the water is pumped out from the plant
Photo#15: DUD water plant has 3-1/2 miles of conduit and 8-1/2 miles of wire which feeds the system and the main control room where operators can monitor everything throughout the entire plant
Photo#16: Variable speed pumps at the intake facility near the lake
Photo#17: Electrical control panel at the intake facility near the lake
Photo#18: Laboratory where the water is checked and verifies that all computers continually testing the water are within range
Photo#19: Andy Jacobs, Certified Water Plant Operator, testing for turbidity levels
Photo#20: DUD Certified Operator Andy Jacobs Monitoring Screens in the Water Plant Control Room
Photo#21: Control Room. This screen monitors everything at the intake including pumps in the lake, wet well, and pumps that carry water from the lake to the plant two and a half miles away
Photo#22: Control Room. This screen monitors everything at the water plant. From here operators can control the water coming in, the filters, and the chemical feed system
Photo#23. Control Room. This screen monitors everything in the distribution system including all pumps, master meters, and levels in water tanks. If anything goes wrong the system triggers alarm lights and sounds a warning
Photo#24: DUD Water Treatment Plant has a conference room
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