Denison Municipal Utilities (DMU) recently signed a construction contract with John T. Jones Construction of Fargo, ND, for a major maintenance and construction project at the DMU Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The project will make significant improvements to the DMU facility to increase the facility’s operational efficiencies as Denison’s population continues to grow, local industries expand, and new businesses are welcomed to the community. The project will be contained within the current footprint of the wastewater treatment facility. Some of the more significant improvements include:

• Replacing a 40-year-old lift station that takes in all of the City's domestic flow
• Capacity upgrades to the activated sludge process, including 750,000-gallon anoxic basins for nutrient removal
• Remodel Lab Control building constructed in the early 1980s
• Upgrade the force main river crossing to the WWTP
• Installing a fiber ring for SCADA automated controls for maximum plant operation efficiencies
• Efficiency upgrades to aerobic digesters constructed in the early 1980s
• Demolishing older, inefficient WWTP processes
• Constructing two covered anaerobic lagoons with a 13-million-gallon operating capacity

DMU is pleased to also announce that the project’s timing will coincide with major wastewater treatment improvements for Smithfield Foods. By coordinating the projects, DMU and Smithfield were able to partner on the construction contract for monetary and mobilization efficiencies. This project will enhance the partnership that DMU has built with all residential, commercial, and industrial customers over the 100-plus years of providing sanitary sewer service to the community.

The initial project fieldwork started shortly after a preconstruction meeting held May 16. The project is expected to be completed and fully operational by March 2020.