Upgrades to wastewater treatment plant will include meeting phosphorus removal mandates

(KWNO)-The Winona Wastewater Treatment Plant will need upgrades to meet the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s phosphorus removal mandates. At the most recent city council meeting City Engineer Brian DeFrang talked briefly about how the facility will be renovated to meet those mandates.

“We did a pilot program on thickening which is basically a centrifuge, heavy stuff goes to the outside, makes the wastewater process more efficient and gets the phosphorus out more efficient because it’s in that thickened sludge,” said DeFrang.

DeFrang said construction will hopefully start early next year. One estimate put the cost of the project at $16 million but DeFrang said prices continue to rise. The city is a seeking a $7 million grant from the state. Councilwoman Pam Eyden spoke about the importance of reducing how much phosphorus gets into our waterways.

“Phosphorus is a hideous problem, it’s a terrible pollutant and it’s no wonder we have an unfunded mandate to get it out of our water before any more of our water flows into the Mississippi River,” said Eyden.

The city is only mandated to reduce phosphorus during the summer months when phosphorus levels are highest.