Consider Water Treatment Plant Site Selection Recommendation

Purpose:
The purpose of this case is to consider providing a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) site selection recommendation to the City Council.
 
Background:
The City of Ramsey has eight water supply wells with concentrations of manganese ranging from 0.02 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to 0.37 mg/L. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has established a Health Based Value (HBV) for manganese of 0.100 mg/L. Four of Ramsey’s eight water supply wells exceed the MDH HBV for manganese. MDH has recommended to the City that they develop plans to address the manganese.
 
In addition to the potential health concerns with manganese, Ramsey’s drinking water also exceeds the Secondary Standards for iron and manganese. Water with concentrations of iron and manganese above the Secondary Standard causes aesthetic problems including red and black staining of plumbing fixtures and laundry and taste complaints.
 
The most cost effective method for removing manganese and iron from drinking water is chemical oxidation followed by sand filtration. These processes require construction of a water treatment plant. Based upon an analysis of Ramsey’s 2040 water demand, the capacity of the water treatment plant should be 10 million gallons per day (MGD).
 
The City of Ramsey currently utilizes groundwater from the Tunnel City-Wonewoc (TCW) aquifer as its exclusive source of drinking water. An evaluation of the TCW aquifer was conducted which determined that the TCW should be able to continue to produce potable water in sufficient quantities to meet present and foreseeable future demands. The Water Treatment Plant is therefore proposed to be a 10 MGD groundwater treatment plant, with planned future expansion to 20 MGD, which generally requires a minimum site area of 3.5 acres.
 
The following four potential water treatment plant sites were identified and evaluated.

• Fire Station Site - 3.2 acres undeveloped private property immediately south of Fire Station #1.
• Public Works Site - 3.5 acres City-owned undeveloped property immediately north of the new Public Works facility, which is currently under construction.
• Water Shop Site - 3.5 acres City-owned property immediately west of Jasper Street where the current Public Works Utilities Shop is located.
• Vacant City Property Site - 4.1 acres City-owned undeveloped property immediately east of Ramsey Boulevard and north of the BNSF rail line.

The locations of the four potential WTP sites are shown in relation to each other in attached Figure 1.  Each site is shown in more detail in attached Figures 4 – 7.
 
The draft preliminary estimated project cost for constructing the WTP as proposed within the Feasibility Report is $31,890,000. Project costs include the capital cost plus contingency, administration, and engineering costs.

Below is a table showing additional preliminary estimated project costs needed to prepare each of the four potential WTP sites in advance of constructing the proposed WTP on each site, which includes such costs as extending raw and finished watermain lines to the site, acquiring property, and constructing garages. Also tabulated are notable pros and cons associated with each site.  
 

Potential WTP Site	Added Estimated Project Cost	Pros	Cons
Fire Station Site	$3,253,000	Shared access and parking with Fire Station #1	Private property acquisition required Near residential parcels Requires trip to site Requires garage
Public Works Site	$3,058,000	City owns property Shared access and parking with PW facility Shared security facilities Shared generator Garage not required	City has received multiple inquiries to purchase this site for private development Last large "City owned" parcel zoned for industrial development City paid for Shovel Ready certification for private development and marketing of this site
Water Shop Site	$3,583,000	City owns property Garage not required Could be considered for replacement of redevelopment/economic development	Requires trip to site Requires demo of existing building
Vacant City Property Site	$4,738,000	City owns property	Requires trip to site Requires garage Property impacted by Ramsey Gateway Highway 10 Improvements

In all scenarios, the properties remain or become tax exempt. There would be some degree of opportunity cost by not facilitating private development either as industrial or residential. The current Public Works parcels provide opportunities for economic development. For historical perspective, the former Bury and Carlson Site (now the listed as the Public Works Site above) was originally purchased exclusively for Public Works purposes. Several years ago, prior to the Bunker Lake Industrial Park and now Pearson South industrial area, there was an exercise to look at approximately 10 acres of the Public Works Site for economic development purposes. A lot has changed since that time in terms of new economic development opportunities as well as the current manganese level concern. From an operations and cost savings standpoint, the Public Works Site presents the best option for the Water Treatment Plant and is more in line with the original intent of the purchase. There will be remnant land available on this site after construction (3.5 acres) as well as the opportunity to redevelop the Water Shop Site and Vacant City Site (collectively). The urgent need for economic development opportunities is not the same when the Public Works Site was originally explored for economic development purposes. The economic development opportunities lost can be made whole while still benefiting Public Works Operations at a lower cost (reduced by $500,000). 

Alternative #1 – Motion recommending City Council approval of the _________ site for the proposed Water Treatment Plant.

Alternative #2 – Motion of other.   

Based on the tabulated information above, as well as other operational benefits and cost savings that would be realized over time, Engineering and Public Works Staff recommend locating the proposed WTP on the Public Works Site. 
 
It is important to note that the City has been primarily running only two to four of its municipal wells to supply water to the City since mid-2019. Since these wells are constantly in operation they are not able to be taken off-line for routine maintenance. Staff therefore recommends proceeding with the proposed WTP construction in as timely a manner as possible to ensure that the City is able to continue providing water in compliance with the MDH HBV for manganese. If the City elects to proceed with construction of the WTP, it could be operational by spring of 2023.  

Motion recommending City Council approval of the _________ site for the proposed Water Treatment Plant.