Alabama Town to Get $13 Million Water Treatment Plant

Tuscumbia Utilities officials soon will venture into the bond market to take advantage of low interest rates as plans move forward for a $13 million water-treatment plant, according to Bernie Delinski of the TimesDaily.

Utilities Director David Thornton said some pre-bond work will be completed, hopefully within a month, to expedite matters.

The existing 60-year-old plant often runs at or near maximum capacity. Occasionally it can’t meet demand, and officials purchase water from neighboring utilities departments, Thornton said.

He said a 30-day study required by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management before putting in a new plant is under way. After that, utilities officials will look at coagulants, which make water settle better in tanks.

The Utilities Board approved a rate hike earlier this year to pay for the cost. The initial increase is $6.09 per month, Thornton said.

Mayor Bill Shoemaker said a new plant is the right move.

“Our rates will still be lower than anyone else’s in the area, and we’ll get a brand-new plant,” Shoemaker said. “We could continue buying water at twice what it otherwise costs, or get a new plant.

“We’ve known we had to do it for a good long while, and we want to get this done at the lowest possible interest rates.”

Timing for the bond market is important, Thornton said.

“If we wait too late and interest rates go up, it’ll be even a higher rate for consumers,” he said. “So we want to lock in a rate when the time is right.

“If the investment bankers don’t think it’s a good time to go into the bond market in a month, we’ll wait until February or March or so.”

The existing plant has a capacity of 2.2 million gallons per day. The new one will handle 4 million gallons per day, and could expand to 6 million per day if needed, Thornton said.

“It should serve our needs for about 50 years,” he said.

The plant also will provide “softer” water, which means less residue from dishwashers and better rinsing in the shower, he said.

Tuscumbia Utilities has 4,850 customers, which is about 10 percent more than six years ago, Thornton said.

Before the increase, Tuscumbia Utilities customers paid about $32 a month for 5,500 gallons of water, he said. The typical residential customer uses 4,000 to 5,000 gallons each month.

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Posted by SBurke on Nov 17 2009. Filed under Energy Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry