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WHEELING -- City leaders in Wheeling are set to take another step forward in a multi-phase, multimillion-dollar water pollution control plan.
During tonight's meeting of Wheeling City Council, legislation is being introduced to authorize the city manager to spend $336,719 with Lone Pine Construction for a chlorine system replacement, which is part of Phase III of the city's long-term, 20-year water pollution control plan.
Although on the surface it looks like a big-ticket item, this chemical system replacement is "Project F" in the third phase of a six-phase plan to upgrade the city's wastewater and sewer systems.
"It's all part of a long-term plan we have to follow," Andy Harris, superintendent of the Wheeling Water Pollution Control Division, said this week.
Harris said the chemical system replacement is a segment of a $10 million improvement that is only the first part of Phase III. The Wheeling Water Pollution Control Department is switching its treatment system from one that uses chlorine to one that uses sodium hypochlorite.
"It's a much safer, much more stable product," Harris said. "If we ever had a tank rupture, for instance, there are plans to follow to address it. But if we're dealing with chlorine in that situation, there are rules on top of rules regulating how it can be handled."
Chlorine has to be removed from water and the pumps of the treatment plant's disinfectant systems, Harris said, noting the chemical switchover is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
This chemical switch is just one drop in the bucket in the overall plan, however.
Phase I and Phase II of the city's long-term water pollution control plan have already been completed.
Phase I, finished in 2005, cost approximately $14 million, in addition to funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Phase II was completed in 2015 and cost around $10 million.
The work already completed included various sewer separation projects, the Main Street liner project, raw sewage pump replacements and system upgrades and line modifications for sewer connections. The city has been able to reduce the number of combined sewer overflows -- or CSOs -- throughout Wheeling from 259 to 42 permitted locations.
Other parts of Phase II in the overall project include replacing additional pumps at the Warwood pump station, a force main replacement in Warwood, a sewer separation in South Wheeling and the Bedillion Lane sewer separation in Edgwood, which is expected to go out to bid very soon.
Harris said bond anticipation notes are expected to be sold this year, which will provide funding for the current projects.
"In the future, we're going to rely on grant money for some of the projects in the plan," Harris said. "It's only going to get more expensive. We've already picked the low-hanging fruit. Nothing is getting cheaper, but we've done what we can do so far."
Phase IV of the plan is expected to cost around $30 million, with a total of six phases to complete.
Another project expected to take place in the near future will be installation of a lining in a 42-inch line on Market Street downtown. Harris said the work will be done to stabilize the aging but still functional line before construction on the $25 million Wheeling Streetscape project begins.
All of the work involved with the city's long-term water pollution control plan will help bring major improvements to the city's wastewater and sewage systems, and that will help the city comply with regulations set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.