The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) will join City of Scottsburg Mayor Terry Amick, community leaders, and project partners at a ribbon cutting ceremony commencing at 11:30 a.m. next Tuesday, March 21, to commemorate completion of the new wastewater treatment plant. The event is open to the public and takes place at 490 N. Third St. in Scottsburg. Cake and box lunches will be provided.
The project has created a switch from a continuous batch reactor plant to a more efficient sequence batch reactor plant design, saving the city money and allowing for a more efficient computer operating system. After taking office in 2020, Mayor Amick hired new engineers and began work on plans for the new treatment plant that would end the sewer ban that had been placed on the city. Cost for a new plant previously designed for the city reached $20 million before officials decided to switch to the new sequential batch reactor plant.
“Implementing a sequence batch reactor design allowed us to build a plant that was one third larger and $2 million cheaper than previous plant plans,” Amick said.
Traveling across the Midwest, south to north, Amick and his team researched and toured various treatment facilities to gather ideas for the Scottsburg plant. After some time, officials were able to create a perfect design for the community, said Amick. “We are hoping to serve as a model and that other plants in the state of Indiana will take a look at what we’ve done here and follow suite.”
With over 250 new homes being built in the Scottsburg area, the plant presents lots of possibilities for the future of the town, not only for the population, but for moving forward in the industry. Now off the sewer ban, the new wastewater treatment plant has more than enough capacity to handle growth over the next 10-20 years.
Speaking of the potential for industry growth, Amick explained, “We’ve literally doubled the capacity of the plant with this new design that will allow us to continue building new additions over the next 100 years. This will also help create job opportunities for individuals and families in our community. All these changes are very positive, and we are excited.”