With a deadline for changing the way the town disposes of its sludge content from its wastewater facility swiftly approaching, the council at its January 14 meeting began the process of finding both …
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With a deadline for changing the way the town disposes of its sludge content from its wastewater facility swiftly approaching, the council at its January 14 meeting began the process of finding both temporary and permanent solutions.
The body ultimately authorized Town Manager Brian Sullivan to engage with the City of Cranston on contract discussions to become the next recipient of Warren's wastewater byproduct, a move hastened by the impending conclusion of its existing deal with Woonsocket for the same.
The matter was broached by Sullivan along with representatives of the firms H2O Innovation, which operates Warren's facility on Water Street, and Synagro, which is contracted for sludge disposal.
"We want to be able to bring this to the forefront to make you aware of the situation and what some of our options might be as we go forward," Sullivan told the councikl as an introduction to the talk.
The town's agreement with Woonsocket for acceptance of liquid sludge, the remnants of the treatment procedure, is set to expire on June 30 of this year.
The City of Woonsocket has declared in the future it will no longer accept the byproduct in its liquid form from outside communities.
As an explanation, there are two types of sludge: liquid and dry.
According to the website sciencedirect.com, liquid sludge is generated by sedimentation of screened sewage and it consists of 93%–98% water and only 2%–7% solids...whereas dewatered (or dried) sludge displays soil-like consistency and it is analogous to farm yard manure.
Warren's treatment plant currently produces just 5% solid sludge. Dried sludge can be disposed of by various means. It can be incinerated, sent to a landfill or converted into a soil conditioner or fertilizer.
Pat Rimkoski, of Synagro, told the council Woonsocket may be amenable to a brief extension as space is available. However, she urged the elected officials to pursue a more permanent plan to contract with the City of Cranston, which continues to take in liquid sludge at its facility.
The latter, though, is time sensitive, she continued, advising the council the capacity at the Cranston site would soon reach capacity as other municipalities face the same plight as Warren.
"It is a limited opportunity because they are going to fill up their allocation as soon as they can, but they're holding a spot for the volume that Warren produces," Rimkoski added.
Advising the council on its ability to conduct contract negotiations in such a tight window, Town Solicitor Anthony DeSisto said, through Sullivan, the process can be expedited per Rhode Island General Law because the manager would be dealing with just one available vendor. There is no need for the contract to go out to bid as is the usual procedure. The council, in turn, could then just as quickly approve the pact by calling a special session.
The Cranston option does come with the caveat of it being the sole source of disposal, so bargaining a price could be limited.
Currently, the town has $252,400 appropriated to Synagro for sludge disposal in Fiscal Year 2024-25. Rimkoski said the typical duration of deals like the one Warren would engage with Cranston is three years.
Of the budgetary impact, Sullivan said in response to questions from the councilors, "We tried to get an idea from Cranston what it might might cost and I even asked are there similar cities or towns so we could kind of gauge what they're charging and they didn't want to say anything about it. So they're holding their cards close to their vest. But I would say, though, it's not as far as going to Woonsocket as far as transportation. So there may be some savings there."
Jefferson Tolman, of H2O Innovation, offered up some potential avenues Warren might pursue in the future, such as potentially dewatering the sludge on site in town. That would include the need to engineer and construct a "dryer."
Tolman said that process usually takes in the range of five years from the conceptual to construction completion stage. He declined to be specific on cost estimates because of economic variables, but said it would likely be less than $5 million in total.
A conundrum for Warren, Tolman said, was its small size and ability to find a suitable location for the dryer. Odor issues, among others aspects, might not meet residential or zoning approvals.
Tolman noted the town's proximity to waterways and the smell would have a "huge impact" on any neighborhood where the dryer would be situated locally.
Sullivan told the council another path could be to contract with the Narragansett Bay Commission, which is also considering building its own dryer apparatus at one of its Providence facility. But, as is the case with what could be considered here, the NBC's plan is also only in the conceptual stages.