The City of Westfield, Mass., announced its public works and water departments are seeking bids for portions of the treatment of the city’s water. The Westfield Department of Public Works (DPW) has requested bids for both the contracts for “dewatered sludge cake hauling and disposal” and the “bulk water chemicals for the Westfield Water and Waste Water Department treatment plants.” The bids are expected to be opened in early March 2017 and would impact fiscal year 2018.
The cost of each bid, according to Cain, could cost the city around $200,000. For the bulk water chemicals contract, all bids must be in by March 1, while the sludge hauling bids must be in by March 8.
Regarding the bulk water chemicals contract, whatever company is awarded the bid will be responsible for providing and delivering the chemicals to Westfield. Francis Cain, assistant director for DPW, said that the chemicals provided are used prior to water being introduced into the system and after it is expelled, and include chlorine—to kill bacteria and other waterborne microbes—and coagulants—a thickener used to remove solid waste from water.
Other chemicals include corrosion inhibitors, which are used to prevent the piping in homes and elsewhere from corroding, thus leeching chemical contaminants like lead and copper into drinking water. According to Cain governmental organizations such as the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency require some of these chemicals in drinking water.
According to Cain, the city has multiple sites where water is chemically treated, including the water treatment plants and some wells. These sites will house the chemicals, as they have the approved tank and storage methods for them.
For the sludge cake hauling and disposal contract, the company that is awarded will be responsible for taking the results of the wastewater treatment and hauling it to another location for proper disposal. Westfield wastewater goes through treatment that includes the aforementioned chemical coagulant addition. This addition effectively separates water from solid waste, and the result is what people may know commonly as sludge.
Source: WWLP-22M
