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Town of Farmville, North Carolina
Mayor Robert "Bobby"
Evans Population: 31,450 City Contact:
DESCRIPTION
OF PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENT The
Town of Farmville entered into a 4-year extension onto their initial 4-year
Partnership with Hydro Management Services (HMS—a division of US Water) to
operate the Town's 3.5-mgd wastewater treatment plant and activated biosolids
processing system, as well as manage the system's electrical load equalization.
The Partnership agreement became effective in May 1994, for a period of 4 years.
The annual contract is valued at roughly $440,000. The Town of Farmville
retained responsibility for customer service, including metering, billing, and
collections.
HMS is responsible for restructuring the Town's
Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP). The Town sought a Partnership approach
after having been issued a Schedule of Compliance from the North Carolina
Division of Environment and Natural Resources. Farmville was found by the
Division to be in noncompliance for the Industrial Pretreatment Program,
biosolids handling and total phosphorus effluent limitations. The IPP was
restructured, and several industrial user permits were modified to obtain
compliance and protect the wastewater treatment plant from off-spec
influent.
ESTIMATED/ACTUAL COST SAVINGS
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Capital Upgrades, Consumer Rates, and Fees No capital improvements are called for in
this Partnership arrangement. Hydro Management Services saved the Town between
$400,000 to $600,000 by introducing biological nutrient removal via operational
changes as opposed to new, expensive technology. These modifications satisfied
compliance achievement for both phosphorus and nitrogen limits, and achieved a
19 percent reduction in overall electrical costs. The modifications also allowed
for discontinued use of alum and its associated product and handling costs. No
concession fees were included in the Partnership arrangement. The Town of
Farmville retained the rate setting responsibility.
LABOR
RELATIONS HMS employs all of the workers at the
plant and gives them equal or better benefit packages compared to before the
effective date of the Partnership arrangement. |
J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352
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