DECATUR — The Decatur Utilities Board of Directors has approved almost $120 million to fund two major improvements to the Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and the city’s sewer system.
Pending approval by the Decatur City Council, construction for both projects should begin this summer. Funding for the projects will come from a previous bond issue and cash reserves.
- $95 million will be allocated to replace the Influent Pump Station and Headworks at the treatment plant, which will improve flow of wastewater through the plant, eliminate the backup of wastewater in the sewer collection system and further reduce sanitary sewer overflows. It will also increase capacity of the plant to meet future demand.
- $25 million will fund installation of a Moulton Street collector 60-inch sewer main which will increase the capacity for transporting wastewater collected from around the city to the treatment plant.
Both projects are major components of Decatur Utilities’ ongoing Sewer Rehabilitation Plan to mitigate and minimize sewer overflows as required by a settlement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management reached in 2021.
The utility’s rehab efforts over the last three years have begun to yield promising results, as the last rain-induced sewer overflow was in March 2022.
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