10.04 - Wastewater Treatment (Spray Site) Preliminary Studies

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March 31, 2004 Honorable Mayor and Council Members City of Pequot Lakes 31108 Government Drive P.O. Box 361 Pequot Lakes, MN 56472-0361 RE: Proposal for Engineering Services Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Plan Pequot Lakes, MN Honorable Mayor and Council Members: In response to a request from Brett Twardy, your Water/Wastewater Supervisor, Widseth Smith Nolting (WSN) is pleased to present our proposal to develop a Facility Plan for the City's wastewater treatment plant. The initial focus expressed to us by the City was to look at using a rapid infiltration basin instead of the present method of disposing of the wastewater treatment plant's treated effluent—namely use of the spray irrigation field south of Derksen Road. Several times in the past, WSN has discussed with the City that while it appears the City's present wastewater treatment plant capacity is not being taxed, spray irrigating treated effluent on the land south of Derksen Road and next to the Paul Bunyan Trail/Trunk Highway (TH) 371 corridor will not be the best long-term use of this land by the City. It should be noted that any change to the City's wastewater treatment system must be reviewed/approved by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). The MPCA requires a study, or what they call a Facility Plan, to be prepared on any such changes. We have discussed with Herschel Blasing of Baxter's MPCA office this proposed project. The idea of the City using a rapid infiltration basin instead of the spray irrigation approach was mentioned. Herschel said that he/the MPCA cannot tell us what alternatives to review or not to review for the Facility Plan (they could then be seen as favoring one approach/technology over another). The Facility Plan needs to discuss various alternatives (buying more land and moving the spray irrigation field, sending a more-treated effluent down to the Preserve Golf Course and them using it for irrigation,