Construction of the new water plant at the city’s water intake on the Clinch River could start in May and be complete in December 2022, according to a proposed schedule presented to Oak Ridge City Council.
The Council on Monday will consider a construction administration contract for the new water plant, which would be south of Bethel Valley Road. It would be able to treat 16 million gallons of water per day.
If approved Monday, the professional engineering services agreement would be with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. of Knoxville. The contract would be valued at up to about $1.88 million. It would be for construction administration and observation of the construction of the new water treatment plant and a main transmission line.
Approval of the agreement with Jacobs Engineering on Monday could be contingent upon the city’s ability to use Drinking Water State Revolving Funding, which is pending approval, according to the resolution to be considered by Council.
More than four years ago, Council adopted an evaluation report from Jacobs that recommended a new water plant as a cost-effective alternative to upgrading the existing plant, which is on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Council later approved a contract with Jacobs for the design of the new plant.
The water plant could reportedly cost more than $40 million. According to Jacobs, the new plant would improve water treatment, use a new membrane filtration system, provide a new water transmission line to replace aging infrastructure, and upgrade the existing raw water pump station screens and pumps at the Clinch River. The new plant would provide capacity for future growth, Jacobs said.
A proposed schedule included in the Council agenda packet said awards for the water treatment plant and transmission line could be made in April, and construction of the plant could start in May and be complete by December 2022. Construction of the transmission line could start in June and be complete by June 2022, Jacobs said.
The water plant provides water to both the City of Oak Ridge and to U.S. Department of Energy sites, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The current water plant is on a ridge top above the main entrance to Y-12 on Bear Creek Road. But there have been concerns about slope instability near the ridge top water plant, and that’s one reason that city officials have wanted to replace the 70-year-old facility. There was a landslide near the access road to the current water plant above Y-12 in February 2019.
Learn more about the professional services agreement with Jacobs here.
Read the resolution that Council will consider Monday here.
The Council meeting on Monday will be virtual. It will start at 7 p.m. See the agenda here. You can watch the meeting here.
