WaterWorks to see updated controls at treatment plant
Nov. 13—The outdated controls and telemetry systems at the Newton WaterWorks Water Treatment Plant were approved to be replaced at a cost well below the engineer's initial estimate. Newton City Council held a public hearing for the project Nov. 6 and swiftly approved the project in a unanimous vote.
According to city documents, the treatment plant was constructed about 55 years ago. The controls and telemetry for the water treatment plant, water wells, water storage tanks, towers and pump stations are old and their software is no longer supported. This project was included in the capital improvement plan for FY24.
Fox/Strand Engineering prepared the plans and specifications and also provided an estimated cost of $500,000. The bid opening on Oct. 20 resulted in two bidders: Jetco, Inc. of Altoona and Automatic Systems of Ames. Jetco submitted the low bid of $225,000 for the project. Automatic Systems bid $368,340.
Staff recommended council to award the contract to Jetco, which will be paid for using water enterprise funds. Property taxes will not be used to pay for the project; only the funds collected through water bills will be used. The project has a substantial completion date of March 28, 2025.
Telemetry systems automatically collect, measure and transmit data from remote locations sensors and devices to a computer system, which allows plant operators to gather, analyze and monitor data and operate control equipment throughout the plant, remote pump stations, water wells and reservoirs.
Jody Rhone, utilities director for the City of Newton, told Newton News installing the controls will not result in loss of service for residents.
Rhone also said during each shift there is one plant operator in control of the water treatment process. This one plant operator is in control of all things required to produce water, from deciding how much water to pull from each well, to how to treat the water with adjusting chemical rates.
"To distributing the treated water at certain rates and to what location or reservoir," Rhone said. "All of this can only be accomplished by having the real time information and ability to make adjustments from the plant control center ... I don't even know how we would operate without it."
Rhone was very happy with the bid coming in significantly under estimate, saying maybe it is a sign of things starting to get back to a new normal.
Newton WaterWorks has been fully managed by the City of Newton since late 2022 as a result of a public vote to dissolve the WaterWorks Board of Directors.
