I wanted to give you an update of recent and future happenings at our SID wastewater treatment facility.

About our Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF).

On 4 April 2025, I met with engineers at the plant and we evaluated the sludge scraper system and discussed ways to replace the worn drive gear. It's taken me a couple years of looking to find a local contractor that is experienced in working on industrial chain systems at wastewater plants.

He quoted $14,261.00 to replace the gear. The gear would need to be custom fabricated to bolt onto the shaft and the work would need to be completed inside the clarifier basin which is a confined space. The size and weight of these chains is easy to underestimate so let me know if you want to check it out sometime. If this gear were to fail, there would likely be damage to the skids and large drive train, which would be a much larger expense. I am waiting to recommend this repair to the SID trustees, but will likely do so, see 8 May below.

16 and 17 April 2025, I attended the Nebraska Water Environment Association (NWEA) Great Plains Conference in La Vista primarily to get continuing education hours towards my wastewater operator certification. During the conference, I met with Sam Fleagle, Environmental Specialist, of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE). Sam our NDEE contact regarding NPDES permit violations, which I report quarterly. I have yet to be able to meet the permit ammonia effluent requirement. Last fall, I discovered that Chuck Denne (the previous operator) was adding supplements at the WWTF for low food-to-microorganism ratios, which is certainly the case. Along with my Operator mentor, I have devised a strategy to systematically implement these supplements with the goal of minimizing the additional cost to the SID (maybe not all of the supplements are needed) and meeting the NDPES effluent requirements. I am hopeful there is a reasonable cost solution that gets the WWTF in compliance. If not, Sam noted that the NDEE has a new initiative to help smaller WWTFs. If the effluent results in June are not in compliance with the permit, it's likely that the NDEE will visit the WWTF to provide some suggestions. To date, I have found that the NDEE tries to help comply with the requirements as opposed to strictly enforcing them (though they do enforce - and send Letters of Non-compliance). More to follow.

On 21 April 2025, the remaining tree cleanup was finished. The tree removals likely have saved the SID some money though damage avoidance given the extreme wind events over the last year and the number of damaged trees that were overhanging the WWTF. Plus, this was an action item on our last NPDES permit inspection cycle, and I believe the SID has now addressed the concern.

On 8 May 2025, I will meet with a wastewater engineer at the WWTF. They have 13 staff in Fort Calhoun and provide water and wastewater consulting to the local municipalities. The purpose of the visit is to discuss potential solutions to substitute another lower maintenance solution for sludge movement in the clarifier. The sludge scraper system we have is a large industrial chain system from the 1960's that runs 24-7 and will be a costly maintenance item for the SID, especially since some of the parts are no longer commercially available and must be fabricated. This system (or another solution that provides this function) is essential for compliance with our NPDES permit. I will reach out to the trustees with an update after this visit. If there's a viable solution, I anticipate a quote to further evaluate the solution and develop it into a biddable requirement. My intent here is to evaluate sludge scraper system replacement prior to additional investment in repairs. Of course, it will be up to the trustees to determine if we proceed with any proposed path beyond the free site visit. More to follow.

About our Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF).