City Taxpayers Will Pay for Going it Alone on Wastewater Plant

 

 Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania officials began discussing consolidating their three wastewater treatment plants into one and increasing capacity in January 2018 to meet a 2025 compliance deadline. By mid-2021, city officials abandoned the effort and decided to go it alone.

 Why?

 When the City Council first considered consolidation in 2018, staff said, “once the plants were consolidated there would not be a need for the same number of personnel so the city would save on annual operating costs. Sharing the facility with Spotsylvania would generate about 50 percent more than it does now and staff did not see any downside to consolidating.”

 The plan was to close both the city’s 1950s wastewater treatment plant and the county’s facility at the former FMC plant. Future treatment would be shifted to the county’s newer Massaponnax facility, which would increase its capacity by roughly 8.5 million gallons a day (MGD) for a total of 17.9 MGD.

 The plans were 60% complete by September 2020 and the price tag was $148 million. The city’s share was $99.9 million (it used more capacity). It was hoped state funds would reduce the city’s share to $80 million.

 The state would continue to push consolidation through 2021 but to no avail. In a March 2021 letter from the city manager to county officials, he said the city was considering going it alone as it would only cost the city $63 million after expected state funding. 

 In addition, the letter referenced a report the city had previously submitted showing the city’s peak flows during a major storm would require an increase in capacity to 24.7 million gallons a day. This would add from $20 to $35 million to the cost, which the county expected the city to cover.

 No one disputed the peak flow numbers, only the timing in which they were brought forward. It was alluded to by the city manager that some of the issues of peak flow could be dealt with, but no specifics were provided on the scope or cost. To date, there has been no public discussion on this. The request from the city was that if consolidation plans were to continue, they would be based on eight and a half million gallons of daily capacity increase that was originally discussed. Plans for consolidating the two systems soon ended.

 So where are we today? 

 Spotsylvania has begun $98.3 million in upgrades. The state is funding around $34 million of that cost, which will increase county capacity by 4 million gallons a day.

 This city is still in the design phase with an estimated current cost of $180.3 million which is significantly higher than planned, and that number could increase. City officials hope outside funding will cover $81.5 million of the cost, but it has yet to apply for state funds. So, how much the state will cover is a big unknown ($44.6 million was originally requested).

The city is expecting a contribution toward the cost of its facility as the county is currently connected to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. However, once its Massaponax plant is completed, it may no longer be obligated to contribute to the cost of the city treatment plant.

At the moment, city taxpayers will be on the hook for at least $70.5 million of the cost. That will come in part from continued increases in utility bills.

 The total cost of the two facilities is now $278 million with a combined capacity of 19.4 million gallons a day, which is below the original goal set for consolidation. And the scope and cost of dealing with the city’s peak flow issue is still unknown.

 Finally, the 2025 compliance deadline will not be met.  The City Council has asked it be extended to 2030. The question then is, what additional costs will be incurred in the coming years thanks to the city’s delay? 

Timeline on Wastewater Treatment Plant Discussions

City Manager Letter 3/21/21

Wastewater Treatment Plant Docs

WQIF Funding Needs

The Massaponnax Wastewater Treatment Plant........

Upgrades to the facility are ongoing. Increased capacity by 4 MGD at a total cost of $98.2 million.

The city's wastewater treatment facility.........

Planning for only a 1.5 MGD capacity increase is still ongoing. Current price tag $180.3 million.

Last price breakdown. The staff has done well in securing some funding. However, the VQIF grant has not yet been approved and Spotsylvania's contribution, if any, has not been determined.