Residents told city staff and consultants Wednesday they believe alternatives for new sewer plant location have not been fully explored.
“No realistic alternatives have been presented so far,” said Dick Reitz, a concerned resident.
A consultant told the Durango City Council on Tuesday the two options for moving the sewer plant could cost tens of millions more than remodeling the current plant.
A new plant north of the La Plata County Jail would cost about $79 million to build, said Pat Mulhern, president of Mulhern MRE.
Another location, farther downstream by La Posta Road, could cost about $94 million, Mulhern said. In contrast, a remodel could cost about $58 million.
The wastewater-treatment plant options may be overestimating Durango’s future needs, and they may not be taking viable locations into account, said Chris Wilbur, a civil engineer and a former chairman of the Utilities Commission.
He urged the city to seize the opportunity to look for more affordable locations.
“It will never be easier to move that plant out of Santa Rita than it is today,” Wilbur said.
If the city built a plant that could process 3 million gallons a day instead of 4 million gallons a day and looked at pieces of property that are currently privately owned, it will broaden the city’s options.
“It doesn’t make sense to look below the High Bridge; that’s totally inefficient,” Wilbur said, of the La Posta Road location.
Shirley Isgar, a county resident, raised Durango Dog Park as a possible alternative location because it is so close to the current plant site.
Mulhern said he did not consider the site because it used to be a Superfund site. But several members of the crowd said it was possible to build on the site.
Other members of the crowd urged the city to consider the value of freeing up more space in Santa Rita Park, instead of approving a remodel that would consume more of the park land.
“Instead of getting more green space, we’ll be getting less,” Jim Mueller said.
However, right now, the councilors are considering only options presented in the Mulhern analysis, said Mary Beth Miles, the assistant to the city manager.
The councilors need to make a decision on the sewer plant in September in order to put the issue on the November ballot.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
