City selects water treatment method

After Monday's action by the McCook City Council, the city's water will be treated for arsenic, uranium and nit-rates with an ion exchange water treatment facility.

Thomas Satchell of the design team of Jacobson Helgoth and W Design told the council the technology used in ion exchange will be the least expensive for the city and generate the least am-ount of waste.

During the meeting, Satchell presented the council with three different options including ion ex-change, reverse osmosis and electro-dialysis reversal.

Capital costs for equipment for the ion exchange option would cost the city approximately $2.5 million, with a total annual cost of 93 cents per 1,000 gallons and less than 5 percent waste generation.

Capital costs for reverse osmosis would cost $2.8 million, including the drilling of an additional well. The total annual cost would be $1.14 per 1,000 gallons of water and 15 to 25 percent of the water pumped would be waste.

The third option, electro-dialysis reversal, would generate 10 to 20 percent waste, capital cost would be $3.5 million and the total annual cost would be $1.20 per 1,000 gallons.

The city is required to send its treatment selection to the Nebraska Attorney General's office by the end of this week.

Once the plans are approved by the state agency, the engineering firms will present the council with equipment specifications for the treatment plant. Once the city accepts the bids, the company chosen to build the treatment plant equipment will be required to set up a pilot plant to prove its technology.

The council also approved two contracts with Miller & Associates. The first contract involves updating the city's water storage facilities and the west booster station.

The second is a contract to upgrade the waste water treatment facility to comply ammonia discharge standards.

The company's first re-sponsibility will be to prepare the design and present it to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality by June 1. Final completion on the project is expected in September 2006.