Installation of a replacement pump system at Kyle’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) could fix a “significant” component failure and prevent 1 million gallons of partially treated effluent from discharging into Plum Creek.
According to a city of Kyle press release, a crew brought a needed pump from Houston Tuesday that will mimic the function of a center well bearing system that failed Sunday.
City officials said a contractor would verify its compatibility with the city’s existing structure. They expect to have components replaced and plant operations fully restored over the course of a month.
On Monday, Kyle city officials scrambled to fix a bearing system failure at the Kyle WWTP 1. Plant 1 is approximately 20 years old.
The bearing system is the main part of the clarification process at the facility, which houses two circular plants. Clarification is what removes the solids from incoming wastewater using a series of motorized rakes, according to the release. The rakes help move wastewater to the next phase of the system.
According to the release, Plant 2 is online and functioning properly.
Jason Biemer, Kyle division manager, said treatment and disinfection of wastewater is still taking place and any outflow of effluent is still treated as it enters Plum Creek.
Kyle’s wastewater plant has a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that limits the amount of solids in the discharged effluent to 15 parts per million.
According to the release, the window for repairing Plant 1 is several days “at most” to prevent overtaxing Plant 2.
Biemer said the first step in repairing the problem is installing temporary pumps to mimic the circulation process to keep solids moving during the clarification process. He said the option is the city’s most viable and cost-effective solution at this point, according to the release.
Harper Wilder, Public Works director, said city crews are monitoring the status of Plum Creek twice per day.
Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell said the failure “showed the importance” of expanding the city’s WWTP, which is slated to begin in Spring 2018.
He said Plant 1 is so old that the city has problems outsourcing parts for it. He said the city had hoped to get the new plant online before failures of this magnitude occurred.
Mitchell understood the history of Kyle’s wastewater treatment plant and that it’s “dicey.” Several spills occurred during the years Kyle contracted Aqua Texas to own and manage the plant.
Kyle took ownership of the plant in 2015, but a pump failure in 2016 led to roughly 100,000 gallons of untreated effluent to spill into a tributary of Plum Creek.
Mitchell said expansion and retrofitting the plant should have been done “years ago.”
“We have been for the last few years trying to unwind the damage caused by their (Aqua Texas) negligence,” Mitchell said. “The status of the plant is better than it was before, but it’s not to where we want it.”
