Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Apalach reuse project to create area jobs

At the Sept 8, regular meeting of the Apalachicola Board of City Commissioners, the city’s engineering firm Baskerville and Donovan recommended that the commission award the contract to construct the long anticipated wastewater reclamation system to Panama City based Royal American Construction Company.

Engineers have designed the system to take wastewater received at the treatment plant west of town and treat it for reuse in commercial and eventually residential applications. Currently the State of Florida permits the city to discharge its effluent into Huckleberry Creek, a practice that brought about Teat v. City of Apalachicola several years ago.

Once constructed, the system will allow city officials to eliminate the need to use a body of water to release its effluent. At that time, the treated wastewater or “gray water” will be used to irrigate city and county owned parks, open spaces, and eventually residential areas throughout the community.

The city council received funding for the project totaling $8,000,000, from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection State Revolving Fund Division.

Richard Delp, Project Manager with Baskerville and Donovan told commissioners that Royal American provided the city with the lowest bid of $7,569,187, to construct the system and recommended that the city accept the bid contingent upon the approval of the Florida Communities Trust, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Although based out of Panama City, the commission instructed Delp to make certain that Royal American hire local carpenters, plumbers, and electricians as subcontractors and/or employees to construct the system, and Delp agreed.

City officials are elated that this long anticipated project will not only help keep the environment pristine, but also provide a much-needed boost to the local economy by creating construction type jobs.

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