Fixing wastewater problems requires bids and contracts,
some of which are on the Valdosta City Council
agenda
for Thursday.
AGENDA
Continue reading
REGULAR MEETING OF THE VALDOSTA CITY COUNCIL
5:30 PM Thursday, March 19, 2015
COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL
Received 8 Nov 2014 from Valdosta City Council Tim Carroll. -jsq
City Ahead of Schedule on Sanitary Sewer Collection System Improvement Projects
The City of Valdosta is making significant headway on two capital improvement projects that, once complete, will eliminate some sources of stormwater I&I; but more importantly, they will resolve the overwhelming majority of the sanitary sewer overflows in flood-prone areas of the city during heavy rain events—making these projects the city’s highest priority.
The $36 million Force Main Project, which is currently six months Continue reading
The head of GA EPD went to Florida to explain Valdosta.
Pictured is
Judson Turner, Director, Georgia Environmental Protection Division
telling the
Suwannee River Water Management District
what Valdosta is doing to stop
sewage from flowing down the Suwannee River from
Valdosta’s Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Found
on OSFR. -jsq
PR by Abby Johnson, Office of Communications, Suwannee River Water Management District, RWMD gets Valdosta wastewater treatment plant update,
LIVE OAK, FL, August 13, 2014 — The Governing Board of the Suwannee River Water Management District (District) was given an overview and update at their August 12 meeting about the wastewater treatment plant in Valdosta, Ga., which affects the Withlacoochee and Suwannee rivers.
More than 90 area concerned residents and Continue reading
Emily Davenport, Valdosta Stormwater Manager, sent a letter 2 June 2014
to attendees of the 6 May 2014 Army Corps of Engineers presentations,
with paper materials attached, and a note that they are also online at
Stormwater Division, Regional Flooding. [Not there anymore, but see updated first bullet item below. 2018-01-28 -jsq]
This one is just the presentation by the Corps.
See also: Continue reading
In these videos of
the initial flooding study
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
you can see they’re the Corps, all right: they want to build a levee.
They did emphasize that this was just an initial study on
what could be done inside Valdosta, and their main conclusion
was that there was enough need to indicate federal interest,
as in possibilities of getting federal funding for solutions.
City Manager Larry Hanson got the Corps to confirm (several times)
that Valdosta alone couldn’t stop the flooding, since the vast
majority of floodwaters comes from upstream
on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers.
Later that same evening in response to citizen questions
at the Valdosta City Hall Annex, the Corps clarified more that
they did understand there were issues of impervious surfaces
and development and loss of wetlands and they wanted to
do a much larger study of the entire watershed,
which could take several years to accomplish.
They kept emphasizing that the Suwannee River watershed
is one of the largest in the country, and there are also
flooding problems on the Suwannee River, which could be important
for obtaining federal dollars.
As we already knew, Valdosta has funded projects already started to move the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) uphill and to add a force main to prevent manhole overflows. People downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.
Here’s a video playlist, followed by images of the Corp’s slides and of the City Council, and some notes.
Continue reading
Tonight we get to hear twice about the long-awaited
flooding study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
once with no citizen input at the Valdosta City Council Work Session,
and then with citizen input at Valdosta City Hall Annex.
Presumably this study will say something about the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), the new
force main to prevent manhole overflows, and
maybe some upstream measures to keep quite as much water from getting there.
This study only addresses issues within the city limits of Valdosta,
not the larger watersheds upstream on the Withlacoochee and Little Rivers
and downstream: that will take more funding.
People
downstream in Florida may be relieved to hear something is being done.
The city of Valdosta does have a plan to fix its sewer problems;
it’s funded; and it’s moving along rapidly.
In the Spotlight on Valdosta’s front page says:
Click here for updates to Valdosta’s Sanitary Sewer System improvement projects.
That link leads to Valdosta Sanitary Sewer System Improvements [Since moved by Valdosta to a new URL. 2018-01-28 -jsq], Continue reading
Once again, Valdosta famous into Florida again for wastewater spill, and Florida residents are tired of it.
WCTV 1 March 2014, Georgia Spill Leads To Warning In Florida
[Matt] Meersman and his friends enjoy visiting the Suwannee River to train for canoe races. According to the City of Valdosta, heavy rains have caused about 7.5 million gallons of highly treated waste water to wash into the Withlacoochee River, which connects to the Suwannee. Signs are posted around the Suwannee River State Park to let people know about the possible dangers of swimming in the water.
“When it’s impacted by stuff like this, it makes it hard on us to think about it as the pristine place that we like to think of it as,” said Meersman.
Meersman says there are other rivers around the area they can practice on in the meantime, but he says he’s tired of the spills.
“It’s bad enough Continue reading
What if the Industrial Authority used its bond-issuing power to finance rooftop solar? And what if it combined that with utility-scale solar projects on its own industrial park lands, and for example at the airport, or at the new Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant?
Here’s the idea, in a report by Citi GPS, Energy Darwinism: The Evolution of the Energy Industry, October 2013, pages 48-49,
It is not just the technology that is evolving in the solar industry; the financing of solar projects, both residential and utility-scale is evolving quickly. The most notable development here has been in the form of solar leasing, whereby the rooftop panels are owned by a third party who effectively leases the rooftop from the home/factory/office owner, the latter receiving payment normally through a reduction in electricity bills paid for by the lessee. This provides the benefits of cheaper and cleaner solar electricity to the homeowner, whilst negating the need for the significant initial capital outlay. The panel owner or lessee earns their return via incentive mechanisms such as the U.S. Investment Tax Credit, and via the sale of the electricity back to the local utility. This financing mechanism has proved particularly successful in the U.S. and is gaining traction in the UK, with companies in other countries looking to follow suit.
This is what Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning suggested back in May that SO might do. But we don’t have to wait on Southern Company or Georgia Power.
At the utility scale level, the emergence of innovative financing vehicles such as green bonds Continue reading
Valdosta city PR today, City Receives $36.7 million GEFA Loan to Move Forward with Force Main Project,
The City of Valdosta was awarded a $36.7 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) loan by the
Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA), on Nov. 14, 2013.
The city will use the low-interest loan to finance the construction of two major pump stations, two minor pump stations, a 6-mile 32-inch and 40-inch force main, a headworks structure with grit removal and bar screens, and a 6-million gallon equalization basin. Wastewater will be gravity fed to the existing site of the Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) for final treatment and discharged utilizing the existing plant outfall, until the relocation of the plant is completed in November 2015.
This project will Continue reading