Perryville, Missouri, needs a new sewage-treatment plant, according to its city administrator. Built in the late 1970s, the current plant is outdated and doesn�t address the city�s wastewater needs, Brent Buerck said.

Buerck, Perryville�s administrator, will give a presentation, �The Biggest Public Works Project in the History of Perryville,� at 8:15 a.m. today at Robinson Event Center, 2411 Walters Lane in Perryville.

In it, he will outline the present circumstances, and what needs to change � and how the city plans to pay for it, he said.

�Our sewer plant was built in the late 1970s, so it�s over 40 years old,� Buerck said.

The plant�s design uses trickling filters, a system Buerck said was �somewhat en vogue� in the 1970s, but is no longer used.

�It doesn�t treat for metals or phosphorous, things we�ll see in very near future permits,� Buerck said, adding the city has already seen some violations for ammonia levels.

�We continue to operate and do the best job we can, but it�s simply a matter of the technology we use not treating things we need to treat,� Buerck said.

Nearly 20 years ago, Perryville voters approved a plan to pay for a new water treatment plant, Buerck said.

�We�re asking voters to use the same funds for a sewer plant,� he said.

The water treatment plant will be paid off next year, he said, and the city is asking to continue the existing 3/8-cent sales tax and the property tax, Buerck said. Existing utility rates would comprise the remaining amount, he added.

�We�re looking to continue the same plan to finance the water plant as the sewer plant, and again, it would sunset in 20 years when it�s paid off,� Buerck said.

The last 32 to 36 months have seen the city doing extensive research and planning, he said, with Donohue and Associates based in Chesterfield, Missouri, submitting an evaluation to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

That evaluation was accepted by the DNR, Buerck said.

Buerck said cities across the nation are dealing with aging infrastructure, and Perryville is no exception.

�This will be a big deal,� Buerck said, as it will cost up to $26 million in bonding, �but it�ll be exactly what we need going forward.�

As to whether this new treatment facility is related to the city�s stormwater system, Buerck said yes.

Perry County has an extensive karst system, meaning a network of caves stretches below the ground�s surface.

That leads to particular challenges, Buerck said.

Since Perryville�s system has below-ground caves rather than aboveground ditches, in most cases, Buerck said, all runoff entering the sewer system must be treated as if it�s sewage.

Buerck said a challenge recently was, the sewer lines were old, and holes had developed, so the city re-lined those pipes in a $400,000 project.

The city was treating much more water than it needed to, Buerck said.

That put a strain on the system, he added, but it was necessary because �we know someone�s going to drink that water.�

�The timing has worked out, where we�re almost finished paying off the water plant,� Buerck said. �We�re not asking for new taxes. We would like to use the same formula the city was comfortable using for a water plant to now pay for a sewer plant.�

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630