Explanation
1. BACKGROUND:
The purpose of this ordinance is to authorize the Director of Public Utilities to enter into a construction contract with Siemens Water Technologies in connection with the Jackson Pike Wastewater Treatment Plant Digester Cover Rehabilitation Project, as authorized under an emergency declaration issued by the Mayor on June 6, 2007.
On the morning of Thursday, May 31, 2007 personnel of the Jackson Pike Wastewater Treatment Plant detected a potential safety problem at the plant's Biosolids Digester No.3, in the form of highly flammable methane gas leaking from the digester's inflatable cover. The plant personnel immediately evaluated the situation and it was discovered that the gas was leaking through an old repair in the outer "fail-safe" membrane of the two membranes which constitute the cover. The unit was then shut off from the general gas supply system. Immediately thereafter, they conducted a further inspection and discovered the following; 1.) The larger steel "gas well" at the top of the cover had dropped suddenly in the supporting geodesic dome structure, bending and breaking some of the dome's structural elements; 2.) Both inflatable membranes had sustained sufficient damage to make their repair infeasible; and 3.) The damage to the dome, gas connecting piping, and bridge supports will take the structure out of service until conclusive rehabilitation can occur.
On Friday, June 1, 2007, the damaged membranes and gas well were removed. The biosolids in the digester are being removed to the plant's disposal process, and the remaining grit and debris will be cleaned out of the vessel as soon as possible.
Although the surrounding area is now safe from explosion from this source, hazards will still exist until repairs and replacements are completed. This inactive Digester will also substantially reduce the capacity of the plant, endangering the City's ability to treat wet weather flows as mandated by Ohio EPA. It is t...
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