June 2016, Vol. 71 No. 6
Newsline
DeKalb County Issues Contracts For Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation
The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) in DeKalb County, GA, will issue up to four design-build contracts, by late summer 2016. Each contract holds an approximate value of $50 million and will be used for rehabilitation and improvements of sanitary sewers throughout the county’s system to reduce and/or eliminate sanitary sewer overflows, in compliance with a Federal Consent Decree (CD) issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The upcoming contracts are in response to a Clean Water act settlement reached between DeKalb County and the EPA in December 2011, in the form of a CD requiring the county to develop and implement effective capacity, management, operations and maintenance programs for its wastewater collection system, including a continuing sewer assessment and rehabilitation program. The CD requirements set out a deadline for completion within 8.5 years of the date of entry; capital projects related to the CD are estimated at approximately $285 million.
In late March, assessments of approximately one-third of the DWM’s sewer system in DeKalb County were in progress, and the DWM estimated that upon completion, 15 to 30 percent of the system’s components would need rehabilitation or capacity upsizing prior to June 2020.
The DeKalb County DWM is the primary provider of water and wastewater services in the county; the department protects public health, safety and welfare through the provision of safe drinking water and quality wastewater treatment. The department is among the largest water/wastewater utilities in Georgia and across the southeastern region of the U.S., serving more than 700,000 residents.
Dekalb County, GA, Watershed Management
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