FROM THE MAYOR
HARRISBURG’S WATER RECLAMATION FACILITY With all the residential growth Harrisburg has experienced over the past several years, the city has seen a need for growth in its infrastructure such as streets, intersections, parks and the new water reclamation facility (WRF) – one of the most recent projects our city has undertaken. Looking at the building permits growth curve image below, you will see our city growth rate has a pattern of ebbing and flowing. The ebbing of the curve has been very minimal when contrasted against the steep inclines seen in the flow. Because of the steady growth seen yearover-year, and the recent sharp trends upward, the City Council and city administrative staff saw this facility as an immediate need. For some historical context, Harrisburg sends out raw wastewater to Sioux Falls for treatment, which we had to do because we were unable to treat it ourselves with our current infrastructure. We have projected by 2025 our yearly treatment costs would exceed $1.5 million. The
city of Harrisburg has obtained a loan in which the interest is locked in and the repayment price set at $1.44 million per year over 20 years.
Mayor Derick Wenck
Over 20 years, projections are it would cost the city $80 million to continue pumping its water to Sioux Falls for treatment, whereas by building this facility, the projected total cost will be $66 million. Construction on the water reclamation facility started on July 1, 2020.The facility itself cost $16.4 million. The total cost for the project, including land, lagoon reclamation, and the 5-mile forcemain to the Big Sioux River, is $25.8 million. Depending on the rate of population growth, this facility will handle our flows for 15 to 20 years before an expansion is needed. The construction will have substantial completion on Aug. 2, 2021, with final completion and a fully operational facility expected by Oct. 1, 2021. The Harrisburg Water Reclamation Facility is designed to treat 1 million gallons of wastewater per day (gpd) and is expandable up to 4 million gpd with the future growth of our city. With our current average wastewater flows at 300,000 gallons per day, we have enough extra capacity today for an estimated 13,000 additional people. So what becomes of the current infrastructure? Our current lagoon wastewater treatment facility will be
Construction is ongoing at the Harrisburg Water Reclamation Facility. Photo by Gene Hammerstrom. 6
CONNECTING THE HARRISBURG COMMUNITY
