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<br />/~ ~-"'!i) <br />h... .iJ I-..J <br /> <br />TUESDAY <br /> <br />NOVEMBER 25, 1980 <br /> <br />and bond buyers. Seeking to increase their capacity, Martinsville <br />requested reallocation of a portion of the Authority's capacity under <br />Paragraph VIII - C of the sewage treatment contract. The City and <br />Authority were unable to agree on the reallocation and consequently <br />we were requested to arbitrate the issue. <br /> <br />Upon review of your instructions, the sewage treatment contract, and <br />other circumstances surrounding the dispute, it is our opinion that <br />capacity reallocation is not necessary at this time. By taking this <br />position, we are not stating that Paragraph VIII - C is not valid or <br />does not apply, but simply that it does not provide either the most <br />effective or the most appropriate means of increasing the capacity <br />available to Martinsville. <br /> <br />In lieu of reallocation, our recommendation is that appropriate <br />interim and long range improvements designed to increase plant <br />capacity be authorized and completed as soon as possible, with the <br />cost thereof shared proportionately between the City and the <br />Authority according to Paragraph IX of the sewage treatment contract. <br />If authorized quickly, improvements can be completed in time to <br />prevent serious plant overloading. <br /> <br />This recommendation is possible since with the Water Control Board <br />enforcing only total biological oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended <br />solids (SS) loading to the stream and not design flow limits, it is <br />lawful to exceed permitted design flow if the effluent BOD and SS <br />concentrations are maintained below their allowable limits. <br /> <br />Plant flow records for May through September 1980 average 5.4 MGD, <br />which is very near the six MGD limit. BOD and SS concentrations, however, <br />are 12 and 16 mgl, respectively, compared to their 30 mgl limits. If <br />these same BOD and SS levels were sustained, plant flow could be <br />increased to over 10 MGD without exceeding permit limits. Unfortunately, <br />this is not possible at the existing plant. It is our judgment, however, <br />that the plant will meet the permit limits at the six MGD design <br />flow, and further, that it will be capable of treating flows of seven <br />to eight MGD, if the following improvements are made: additional <br />aeration horse power; chemical feed systems to augment final clarifier <br />and sludge thickener performance; additional sludge stabilization, <br />dewatering and disposal capacity; a separate system for treating <br />recycled flows from thickeners, digesters and dewatering equipment; <br />and monitoring and control of industrial discharges to the plant. It <br />is certainly possible that there are alternatives to these improvements <br />so long as solids handling is sufficiently improved. <br /> <br />The important point here is that by making appropriate improvements as <br />soon as possible, a significant increase in capacity is affected with <br />no loss in allocation to either the City or the Authority. On the <br />other hand, reallocation would at most result in an insignificant <br />capacity increase for Martinsville, and that at the Authority's expense. <br />Further, plant flows are to the point that in addition to interim <br />improvements, planning for long range improvements is absolutely <br />