Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 3 Groundbreaking Ceremony, Bastrop, Texas
Officials from the City of Bastrop and KSA gathered to break ground on construction of a brand new, state of the art, Wastewater Treatment Plant. Due to Bastrop’s existing plants number 1 and 2 reaching the end of their useful life the City of Bastrop selected KSA to design the new wastewater treatment plant. This development is in accordance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), whereby when the city is operating at or near capacity, the city is required to begin expansion. KSA was awarded the contract to design the new wastewater treatment plant and collection system on October 31, 2018.
Several KSA team members breaking ground with Bastrop officials.
KSA designed this initial plant to process 2.0 million gallons per day with an expansion possibility for up to 8.0 million gallons per day as needed. City of Bastrop Mayor, Connie Schroeder has reminded the community that “We have spent hours and hours on this plant. It is state of the art, it is the right thing to do, and we have the ability to expand. We cannot be a city if we cannot provide utility services. We have to have it.” The development of this wastewater treatment plant also coincides with dramatic population growth happening today and also in the near future.
When you think wastewater treatment plant you probably don’t think of something visually appealing. Architects from KSA worked with the City of Bastrop staff to develop an operations center that would not be a visual distraction. Some of the visual components include: a tree buffer around the plant, a landscaping fence, directional lighting, and a rancher/home style office facility that uses materials to resemble surrounding neighborhoods.
The City of Bastrop asked KSA to take every reasonable and fiscally responsible measure to mitigate potential odor from the plant. “All of the reasonable technological advances that are available to us today to mitigate smell have been built into this plant,” said Bob Lane, P.E., Lead Project Manager for KSA. In preparation of the design, KSA Engineers field tested odor emissions from the existing wastewater treatment plant in Bastrop, and other wastewater treatment plants in the area.
Because this wastewater treatment plant is in a different location from the existing plant, it is necessary to design new collection system components redirecting the wastewater to the new location. Designing the best collection system infrastructure has to do with selecting the most appropriate pipe materials and flow capacity. KSA worked diligently to find the right balance of pipe diameter and pipe material that will allow the best use of funds while giving the longest practical life.
The city hosted an open house with the public relations team from KSA in September 2019. During the open house, technical team members were available to answer questions and present information to residents. The City of Bastrop will continue to inform the public with major milestones related to the development and construction of Wastewater Treatment Plant Number 3.
KSA and the City of Bastrop are excited to give the citizens of Bastrop a wastewater treatment plant that will be able to adequately and efficiently treat wastewater for the current and increasing population.
