GLADSTONE — Major upgrades are coming to the Gladstone wastewater plant this year, something the city says has been needed for a long time.

“The plant is over-overdue for these upgrades,” said Gladstone Wastewater Superintendent Rodney Schwartz.

Construction was completed on the wastewater plant in 1974. At that time, the plant was expected to last into the 1990s before upgrades would be needed. Those upgrades never happened.

“We’ve pretty much doubled that lifespan,” said Schwartz.

The $21.4 million project includes the replacement of failing raw sewage pumps, installation of fine sewage screening and grit removal to reduce downstream maintenance, adding a second primary clarifier, replacing failing secondary treatment rotating biological contractors with moving bed biofilm reactors — a move Schwartz says will be more efficient and remove more ammonia from the wastewater — improvements to biosolid handing and disposal, and other upgrades to maintain the wastewater treatment plant’s reliability and hydraulic capacity.

The project will also include the creation of a new administration building, which will be attached to the current building on its west side. The building will house a laboratory area, a combined conference and break room, and a superintendent’s office. Currently, Schwartz’s office is a space in the plant’s pole building garage.

Besides the aging and failing equipment at the plant, much of the impetus for the project is coming from the state. The Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued an administrative consent order requiring the city to fix issues with the plant and the city’s collection system following sanitary sewer overflows and overflows of partially-treated water caused by high lake levels in 2019.

Lake levels may have dropped since 2019, but inflation has risen and the cost of the project has been substantially affected by the current economic climate. Initially, the cost of the project was expected to be around $17 million, but inflation, material shortages and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic raised the total project cost 27% to its current $21.4 million price tag.

To meet its financial burden, the city recently bonded for $22 million for the project and related costs. The cost of repaying the bond will fall on customers, who can expect to see increases in their wastewater bills this August.

The cost of wastewater will go up to $10.50 per 1,000 each month, up from $8.20. The monthly accessibility charge each customer with a water meter pays for wastewater will also increase. For a typical homeowner with a 5/8″ meter, the cost will increase from $21 to $29.

According to Schwartz, the average city resident uses about 3,000 gallons of wastewater a month, equating to an increase of about $15 on their utility bill monthly from wastewater fees.

While the state is requiring the upgrades, it has also helped ease some of the burden on the city and its residents. The city has secured principle forgiveness of 15% ($3,195,750) for the project through EGLE’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

The city anticipates ground to be broken on or slightly before Aug. 5 of this year for the project and wrapped up by Nov. 15, 2023. While much of the project will take place inside the current wastewater plant, residents will be able to see the construction of the new administrative building and the new primary clarifier.