From Wastewater to Reclaimed Water
outfall control valve automation taken
out of the original design to achieve
grant funding budget constraints.
This, in turn, didn't allow the most
optimal operation of the reclaimed
water transfer pumps, as originally
intended. Collaboration by Ayres and
the City yielded a solution to raise the
chamber outfall pipe to effectively
maintain required water elevation for
efficient pump operation; all in a costeffective manner that integrated both
common-sense operational and cost
considerations.
“We had to do some quick
engineering on this and figure out
how to fix this problem,” McCann
said. “With Ayres’ help, we came up
with a solution that used some old
parts that we had on the plant site.
We were able to correct the issue with
a minimal charge, and that for me
was a big, big help. We could’ve had a
major problem and got it taken care of
relatively quickly.”
16│TRENDS
Understanding limited
budgets
Being mindful of the City’s limited
budget has been a godsend to
the economically disadvantaged
community, where the median
household income is approximately
$21,000 and about 40 percent of the
population lives below the poverty
level, according to U.S. Census Bureau
statistics. City leaders say engineer
David Kemp, manager of Ayres’
Jacksonville office, visits Palatka one
to two times per week and makes
repeated concerted efforts to make
the most out of every dollar spent.
City Manager Michael Czymbor said
Palatka’s fiscal constraints place it in a
unique position.
“It’s kind of the double-edged sword,”
Czymbor said. “We’re eligible for a
lot of grants and financial assistance
because of the economic conditions,
but obviously then you have to come
up with, a lot of the times, the local
match.”
In addition, the City was hit hard with
the economic recession, exacerbated
by budgetary and other financial
quandaries in the mid- to late 2000s –
all of which resulted in “very low fund
balance levels,” he said.
“There aren’t a lot of capital
reserves to repair and replace the
infrastructure system,” he said, noting
that the City maintains more than 120
miles of pipes for the water system,
many of them quite dated.
“We’re a full-service community, and
we have some constraints, but we’re
looking at every creative possible
solution to try to address those,”
Czymbor said.
A long-term relationship at
its best
Jonathan Griffith, project manager
for the City of Palatka, said he’s been
pleased with the work that Ayres has
done for the City through the years.
The relationship goes back nearly 20
years now.
“Most importantly, we’re satisfied
with the follow-up after closeout of a
project,” Griffith said. “They’ve been
very helpful in assisting with any
conflicts or disputes with contractors.
They’re also very, very proactive
in helping us seek funding for our
priority projects, and they’re on
point when it comes to construction
administration and inspection.”
Even though Ayres’ Jacksonville office
is based some 60 miles north of
Palatka, “it’s almost as if they’re here
working in our hometown.”
“They’re here if not daily at least
weekly on these larger projects,”
Griffith said.
Griffith, who also serves as grants
administrator for the City, brought
up an instance in which Kemp helped
the City prepare a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency application under
its highly competitive brownfields
planning and assessment grant
program.
Extra efforts appreciated
“Even though we weren’t successful
(during the most recent grant cycle),
David (Kemp) put in a lot of late nights
helping us to pull together some
of the necessary information and
really took the lead on packaging the
application – and we’re very thankful,”
he said.
Likewise, Kemp has enjoyed working
with the City.
“It’s fun to work there because the
people are really nice, and they
want to make things better for the
community,” Kemp said. “It’s just been
a very enjoyable client for me to work
with over the years.”
Above: Reclaimed water transfer pumps, control panel, filters, and effluent piping
allow the treated wastewater to move from the treatment plant to the holding pond
at the City’s municipal golf course.
TRENDS
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