The big picture
The plant—located within Houston city limits at 2801 N. Braeswood Blvd., Houston—is situated south of the city of West University Place along Braes Bayou. The system carries wastewater from the city down a gravity main along Brompton Street to the plant. From there, it is treated and outfalls to Brays Bayou.
City officials are looking to improve the plant for five main reasons:
- addressing the aging condition of plant, which was commissioned and installed in 1982
- improving flood resiliency after floodwaters came within a few inches of the plant's motor control center during Hurricane Harvey
- safety improvements
- operation and maintenance cost savings
- making it easier to maintain compliance with state regulatory requirements, including by moving from coarse bubble diffusers to fine bubble diffusers
The backstory
A wastewater treatment plant master plan was completed in November 2020, which provided an overall evaluation of the plant and suggested several projects. In February 2022, the Council approved a $1.2 million contract with Kimley-Horn for design services.
The details
The overall project has been broken up into subprojects, Shelton said. Two more urgent subprojects have already been completed, including an infiltration inflow study and updating weirs.
Other elements of the plan include:
- treatment process optimization
- elevating the administration building
- new motor control center
- improving the disinfection process by removing the existing gas chlorine system and replacing it with a liquid chlorine system
The project reached the 90% design milestone in December. Shelton said designers are ready to move forward with the second round of permitting with the city of Houston, including building and civil permits. Since it is located on Houston land, the project is subject to city of Houston requirements.
What else
The improvements are also expected to lead to better quality of life for those who live near the plant, Shelton said.
- A higher quality of water would be discharged to the bayou
- The use of fine bubble diffusers typically comes with improved odor control.
- The use of a liquid chlorine system instead of a gas chlorine system is considered safer.
Kimley-Horn officials said the construction bidding process could begin around February or March. The next time the project will be brought back to the West University Place City Council could be in summer 2024, when Council members could be asked to approve a bid. Construction could wrap up in December 2025.
