The city council in Wilmington, Del., has approved Mayor James M. Baker’s request to spend $5.4 million over the next five years on the city’s wastewater treatment system.
The money will go to installing gates and dams in old storm water collection and sewage systems that end up spilling raw sewage into rivers when it rains.
According to the News Journal, the money is for the first phase of a $10 million project to implement the Real Time Control technology. $4.6 million for the second phase is expected to come from the state and federal governments. The project will take several years to complete.
The $5.4 million contract given to BPR CSO Inc. of Quebec, Canada, will go to engineering work and the computers that will run the system. The new system will divert storm water and sewage from overflowing in one area and redirect it to another area that can handle the extra burden.
Currently, the city’s sewage and storm water collection system use the same pipe, which causes discharges during rain.
Source: News Journal