Major sewer project contemplated

From left, Ross Kasmann of Engineering Surveys and Services, Ed Siegmund of the Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Committee and Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann pore over proposed plans for a sewer system in western Callaway County.
From left, Ross Kasmann of Engineering Surveys and Services, Ed Siegmund of the Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Committee and Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann pore over proposed plans for a sewer system in western Callaway County.

Callaway County is considering the feasibility of a massive, multi-stage, multi-year sewer construction project.

The project was discussed at a Wednesday meeting of Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann, two representatives of an engineering firm, Ed Siegmund of the Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Committee and Kent Wood of County Environmental Public Health

"This all initially started because one or two developments on that side of the county were calling for help," Jungermann explained.

He said these small developments, such as County Line Estates and Saratoga, have their own small wastewater treatment systems, which are old and due to be repermitted with Missouri's Department of Natural Resources.

In order to be repermitted, however, the treatment systems have to meet current DNR standards on things like reducing ammonia levels and removing harmful bacteria. Since many don't meet the standard, the developments are left open to significant fines from the DNR.

"We asked ourselves, what could we, the county, possibly do?" Jungermann said.

In 2015, the county took funds from a 604B grant and commissioned a watershed study of the Cedar Creek area, with the goal of finding potential solutions. Engineering Surveys and Services conducted the study, and two employees of the company, Ross Kasmann and Earl Pabst, took part in the meeting.

Their conclusion: revamping the facilities individually would be costly and temporary.

"The only two with viability in the interim are at Lake Breeze and the treatment plant serving Millersberg," Pabst said.

Instead, they outlined a much larger solution, which Jungermann summed up as creating a sewer system covering the area north of Millersburg up to Highway J. Businesses, subdivisions and individuals in that area could potentially hook into that system, rather than relying on outdated individual lagoons.

"The more people paying in, the cheaper it will be for everyone," Kasmann said.

DNR representatives have said if the developments and the county are working toward a solution, they'll delay implementing fees.

"It's a good faith effort for the DNR," Kasmann said.

And creating a sewer system makes the area more appealing to developers, Pabst said, especially with its proximity to Columbia.

All five emphasized the project is still very much in an early stage. Siegmund called it a "preliminary of a preliminary," and Jungermann said the project has a 50-50 chance of being completed. Furthermore, the time-scale of the project would be measured in years.

Ahead are meetings with the DNR and the developments involved, as well as public meetings and seeking funding. While an exact figure isn't yet ready, the entire potential project - currently envisioned in three phases - could cost millions of dollars, some of which, Jungermann hopes, will be covered by grants.

"This (repermitting) is a problem elsewhere in the county as well," Jungermann said. "We're starting here because there's a viable solution."