Due to the ongoing winter storm, City facilities, including City Hall and all Parks, Recreation and Culture facilities, will be closed on Monday, January 6. This is due to the forecasted snow and ice accumulation resulting in dangerous travel conditions.
Project Overview
The Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant is slated to receive an impressive array of upgrades as the City of Lawrence continues its mission towards increased sustainability. This $70M project will address further nutrient removal limits that are set forth by the local regulating agency. In addition, these upgrades will also assist the plant as they do increased asset management and work to upgrade aging infrastructure. This project marks the city of Lawrence’s second largest funded wastewater project.
Originally opening in 1956, the Kansas River Wastewater Treatment Plant (KRWWTP) is a longstanding institution of Lawrence infrastructure, receiving a daily average flow of 8 million gallons every day (MGD). Serving as an end-of-line facility that processes and discharges effluent (treated wastewater), the KRWWTP obtains 80% of the city’s wastewater.
McCarthy Building Companies Inc. was selected as the general contractor for the project. The robust scope of work, which will be completed by McCarthy as the project’s CMAR (Construction Manager At Risk) includes:
- Replacing major motor control centers and upgrading electrical equipment, including transferring from city-owned transformers to utility-owned transformers
- Converting from aeration to a biological nutrient removal (BNR) treatment process, which includes converting four aeration basins to BNR basins, converting existing sludge holding tank to a return activated sludge (RAS) fermenter, as well as upgrading to gearless, high-speed turbo blowers and a new thickened waste-activated sludge tank
- Building a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) facility with a new fiber loop, which will help plant staff more efficiently monitor and address system challenges.
- Converting a chlorine contact basin into a new UV facility, which utilizes a different disinfectant process that is more environmentally friendly and sustainable
- Upgrading grit handling equipment to current standards as well as additional upgrades, including valve replacements
These improvements are not only great for bolstering Lawrence’s water infrastructure, but are also necessary to meet the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulatory permit requirements issues by KDHE.
To learn more about the entire system of water & wastewater treatment in Lawrence, check out this new video: youtube.com/watch?v=q-rIIvQCkGA
News Releases
City Commission Meeting Memos
- May 2nd, 2023 – City Commission Meeting Presentation
- October 18th, 2022 – City Commission Meeting Agenda
- June 21st, 2022 – City Commission Meeting Agenda