Greenfield Recorder - Bid approved for $2.4M screw pump project at Montague Clean Water Facility

Chelsey Little, superintendent of the Montague Clean Water Facility. STAFF FILE PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

Staff Writer

MONTAGUE — An upgrade at the Montague Clean Water Facility is one step closer, with the Selectboard having accepted a nearly $2.4 million bid for a screw pump replacement project.

Three companies submitted bids that the environmental engineering firm Wright-Pierce reviewed for the town, according to Lead Project Engineer/Project Manager Lisa Muscanell-DePaola. The firm recommended the bid from Connecticut-based Associated Construction Co., the lowest of the three bids.

“The Associated Construction Co. has suitable experience in building construction, as well as experience in water and wastewater work,” Wright-Pierce’s letter states, noting the company’s regional experience in water facility projects in Westfield and Ellington, Connecticut.

Assistant Town Administrator Christopher Nolan-Zeller explained that a detailed contract was not ready to be presented to the Selectboard for approval on Monday evening because of the “magnitude” of the project, but will be finalized at a later date and voted on by the board.

“This is just the initial approval for a notice of award,” Nolan-Zeller said.

Montague Clean Water Facility Superintendent Chelsey Little explained that screw pumps are used for transferring wastewater from the lower section of the primary treatment facility to the upper part at a steeper grade on Greenfield Road. These screw pumps are recommended to be replaced after 20 years, and the last replacement of these pumps was 24 or 25 years ago.

The screw pumps have no water treatment component within them and are designed to facilitate wastewater movement between the facilities. Little said the pumps are operating at a significantly lower efficiency with staff on standby to manage operations, as the automatic controls that start and stop the pumps no longer work. She said the replacement of the automatic controls will be a “huge relief” for staff.

“We physically have to have people turn them on and off, or turn both of them on if we need to for high flows,” Little explained.

Article continues after...

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

Little said the nearly $2.4 million price tag is an average cost for wastewater projects. It will be covered by a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program. In 2023, Town Meeting voters approved using $800,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay back the loan portion of the USDA’s award.

Little estimates the project will see completion in a little over a year. In that time, the facility has plans in place to avoid a public health emergency in the event that the screw pumps fail entirely.

“We do have backup plans and we have contingencies for emergencies. We do have backup pumps that we can use,” Little said. “It’s not a permanent fix, but it’s something that would certainly buy us time if something were to happen between now and when the project is finished.”

Little expressed her appreciation for both the Selectboard and residents for their attentiveness to the Montague Clean Water Facility.

“I’ve worked at two other wastewater facilities in two different towns, and I find that the town of Montague, the Selectboard and the townspeople are extremely supportive of wastewater and infrastructure,” Little said. “I’m really happy to see that.”

A full list of current and completed projects at the Montague Clean Water Facility is available at montague-ma.gov/p/1540/CWF-Projects.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at [email protected] or 413-930-4231.