Auburn looks ahead with water, sewer projects

The City of Auburn is looking ahead and implementing water and sewer projects, some of them long-term, Auburn Water Resource Management Director Laura Koon said. Some of the major projects under way include:

- Saugahatchee Interceptor sewer project:

The city has contracted a company to line a large existing sewer line in the northern part of town, sealing the joints to prevent roots from growing into them and leaks from occurring, Koon said.

“We’re basically coating the inside of the pipe,” she said. “…We’re essentially taking a 20-year-old pipe and making it new.”

The pipe stretches from the end of Richland Road to College Street and is the main collector for sewage in the north side of the city.

By sealing the pipe and keeping groundwater from joining the sewage the pipe carries, it will cut down the load on the pipe and on the waste treatment facility, she said.

Work began in June and will likely be finished sometime in November, she said. The entire project will cost approximately $2 million, Koon said. That’s much less than installing a new pipe would cost and doesn’t involve digging up residents’ yards, she said.

- Review of H.C. Morgan and Northside sewage treatment plants:

The city is building a pipeline between the Northside and H.C. Morgan (southern) treatment plants. It will allow sewage to be transported easily from one to the other and give the city more flexibility, Koon said. The southern plant has a larger treatment capacity than the Northside plant.

The pipeline will help as the city evaluates its options for improving both plants, she said. The Northside plant needs improvements to bring it up to current requirements. A review is being conducted to determine what’s needed to update the Northside plant and what can be done to improve capacity at the H.C. Morgan plant.

Possibilities include making changes to the Northside plant and possibly closing that plant and diverting its flow to the southern plant, Koon said. A decision on that issue won’t be made until the reports come in and the city council has a chance to discuss the options, she said.

- Water treatment plant review and planning for future water needs:

The city is studying the water treatment plant and what it would take to increase the treatment capacity.

The water management department is also looking at options for the city to meet future water needs, Koon said. Options include buying more water from Opelika and getting additional water from the Tallapoosa River, among other things. Officials are taking their time to examine each possibility and narrow their options, Koon said.

The city has also contracted a company to study the earthen dam at Lake Ogletree, the city’s main water source. Results of that study are expected later this fall, Koon said.

For more information, visit the department’s Web site at http://www.auburnalabama.org/wrm.