News photo by Josh Jambor The sign for the Alpena water recycling plant stands outside the facility on Tuesday. On Monday, the Alpena Municipal Council voted to update its odor control system.

ALPENA – At Monday’s Alpena Municipal Council meeting, the board voted to approve two motions to improve the odor control system at the water recycling plant.

The amount of both proposed improvements will exceed $400,000, but it is budget for and available in the city’s sewer fund.

The City of Alpena’s water infrastructure includes a long-standing water treatment plant and a separate water wastewater treatment Plant that serves customers and Alpena Township residents.

In a statement from Steve Shultz, Alpena engineer, he explained the need for the improvements at the recycling plant.

“While the overall system has served us well, electronics, piping, pumps, and other major components of the system are nearing the end of life,” Schultz told the council. “Veolia staff contacted the original installer, Evoqua Water Technologies, to inspect, evaluate, and provide a quote for the necessary work on the system.”

The facility underwent significant building improvements in 2001. One of those upgrades being an odor control system that would control the odors near the vicinity of the plant.

“One of these improvements was the addition of an odor control system,” Schultz said. “Due to the plant’s proximity to downtown, staff thought it was important to do whatever we could to be a good neighbor.”

Additional work is required regarding monitoring, control, and data acquisition for the entire process.

“This work would have to be done by our SCADA contractor, Tempest Enterprises, LLC, in order to incorporate it into the existing system,” Shultz said.

According to citizensenergygroup.com, a SCADA contractor is a specialized firm or technician that designs, installs, programs, and maintains computer systems used to manage industrial processes, infrastructure, and utilities remotely.

A SCADA contractor bridges the gap between operational technology (hardware) and software to ensure efficient monitoring, data collection, and system control.

In his report, Schultz outlined the cost of the project and what the city is getting for the investment.

“The total cost for all proposed work is $430,916.18. Currently, $390,000 is budgeted for the odor control improvements,” Schultz said. “Due to savings on two previously completed projects, sufficient funding exists within the capital outlay line item to cover the additional costs.”

There were two separate motions presented to the board for approval regarding the proposed improvements. The first motion, with Evoqua, was passed for $353,117. The second motion, with Tempest Enterprises, was approved for $77,799.