GOVERNMENT West University PlaceOKs design contract for wastewater plant
BY GEORGE WIEBE
design process is expected to take one year and include multiple council workshops. The plant’s purpose is to clean the water that goes through the city and deliver it back into the Brays Bayou, said Gerardo Barrera, West University Place’s director of public works. During Harvey, the plant became ooded nearly to the point of critical failure. The motor control center, which controls many of the site’s crit- ical functions, had oodwaters reach its base, according to reports from the city’s public works department. Had waters been any higher, the plant could have been out of commission potentially for months, leading to not just inconveniences for the public, but also severe health hazards, Barrera said. “The sewage has nowhere to go, so it can be out in the streets with the oodwater,” he said. The current wastewater treat- ment plant was built in 1982. While additions have been made for ease of function within the plant, this will be the rst major update to the overall design in 40 years, Barrera said. One of the most important upgrades is the relocation of the motor control center to a more elevated location, Barrera said. Additionally, the fan blowers, which move water around the plant, will be replaced by blowers with ne bubble di users and variable fan drives, which may reduce energy consump- tion, he said. “Right now they’re either on or
In 2017, ooding from Hurricane Harvey across the Houston area caused residual damage, leading residents and government o cials to reexamine anti- ooding measures throughout the city. Since then, a series of well-known projects has been undertaken to reduce ood water build-up, includ- ing the Harris County Flood Control District’s Project Brays, where recent work has involved elevating and widening bridges across Brays Bayou. Less well known are the hyperlocal measures taken to reduce damage and quicken recovery following a ood event. Among those projects is the upcoming e ort in West Uni- versity Place to make an estimated $12 million in capital improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, located at 2801 N. Braeswood Blvd., Houston. That e ort kicked o with a master plan for the treatment plant produced by Kimley-Horn, an engineering rm contracted by the city, in April 2020. In October 2021, Kimley-Horn pre- sented the Council with the Capital Improvement Plan, which identi ed probable costs for each of the recom- mended improvements, including electrical service improvements and equipment replacement. At a Feb. 14 city council meeting, council members approved a $1.2 mil- lion contract with Kimley-Horn for design services to produce a detailed plan for how the city can make the recommended improvements. The
Designs are in place to upgrade West University Place’s wastewater treatment plant. (Photos by George Wiebe/Community Impact Newspaper)
NUTS AND BOLTS Recommended improvements at the wastewater treatment plant could cost more than $12 million.
Optimize ne di users and pumps
$3M
Control building
The plant operates near Brays Bayou.
$2.7M
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
Replace screw pumps, submersible pumps
N. BRAESWOOD BLVD.
$1.5M
B
Motor control center
$1.2M
Site work, other
S. BRAESWOOD BLVD.
N
$909,000
Grit chamber
they’re o , full blast or none,” Barrera said. “Variable fan drives can speed up or slow down and can gauge to be more energy e cient.” The treatment plant is one of the largest power consumers in the city, according to City Manager Dave Beach. Some improvements could also help save energy, Barrera said, including the replacement of Archi- medes screw pumps, which lift water owing through the plant and have to constantly be moving to raise water.
$881,000
Mechanical step screen
$623,000
Electrical power service improvements
$616,000
Disinfection improvements
$389,000
Nonpotable water system
SOURCE: CITY OF WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER $226,000
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COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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