By Renee Simpson
A project to construct a new 6-million-gallon-per-day water treatment facility in New Sarpy is about 80 percent complete, according to Waterworks Director Robert Brou.
Officials broke ground on the $26.45 million project in November 2008. It is on schedule save for work delays caused by water level rises in the Mississippi River. The two new clarifiers and eight filters are set to go online next spring.
M.R. Pittman General Contractors is currently completing final forming and pouring of concrete for the clarifier’s treatment area. Thousands of feet of electrical conduit have been run to the plants’ control panels, and a new chemical feed house will provide a consolidated area for storage and management of needed substances, such as chlorine, ammonia and fluoride.
The footprint of the waterworks site in New Sarpy required engineers Shread-Kuyrkendall and Associates to build the new control building up instead of out. It stands 57 feet above ground level. Workers will man the plant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will have new bunks, lockers and showers available for use during hurricanes and other emergencies.
“We’re pleased with the progress on this project so far and look forward to the efficiency it will bring to our operations,” Brou said. “We pride ourselves on providing the best-tasting water in the state, and this improvement will help us be prepared for any contingency that may come our way.”
The completion of this ‘D-Plant’ will allow refurbishment of the aging ‘C-Plant’, which has been the workhorse of water production on the East Bank, producing up to 4 million gallons of potable water daily since its construction in 1980. After refurbishment is complete, the New Sarpy site will be able to produce up to 13 million gallons of water per day. The oldest clarifier on site was constructed in 1950 and refurbished in 1979 and is still in service.
To see more photos of progress on this project, visit stcharlesparish-la.gov/photos. Video of other upcoming parish infrastructure projects is available at youtube.com/stcharlesgov.
Pump station latest to complete upgrade
A new bar screen cleaner and deck is helping Schexnaydre pump station move rainwater out of Ormond subdivision and other areas more efficiently.
BLD Contractors completed the project earlier this year, which helps drain areas in Council Districts 3 and 6. The automatic bar screen cleaners function to remove trash and green debris from the pump’s intake, allowing the pump to run smoothly during heavy rain events. The screens also protect parish workers from the dangerous job of raking debris from intakes, sometimes in the midst of heavy wind and lightning. Debris is dumped onto the deck and then removed via front-end loader.
“These projects may not highly visible to residents, but they have the potential to make a huge difference with regard to overall drainage,” Parish President V.J. St. Pierre said. “With Public Works still working through many large-scale drainage issues, we’re glad to see this one up and running.”
The $2.1 million project was funded in part by a FEMA Hazard Mitigation grant in the amount of $884,335. Shread-Kuyrkendall served as engineers on the project, which was identified as a priority project in 2008’s St. Charles Parish Public Works Master Plan.
Video of other parish infrastructure projects is available at youtube.com/stcharlesgov. The Master Plan may be viewed at stcharlesparish-la.gov/publicworks.
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