At Monday’s City Council meeting, a unanimous vote brought about a major change in the City’s wastewater treatment operations—one that the City hopes will equate to major savings.
The City has signed a five-year agreement with Veolia North America-Central, the largest third-party water and wastewater treatment company in the United States.
Under the new multi-year agreement, Veolia will assume responsibility for operating and maintaining the City’s wastewater treatment plant. The employees currently employed there by the City of Sapulpa will now become Veolia employees, and Veolia will bill the City for its services.
According to Sapulpa Finance Director Joe Don Dunham, a partnership between a municipality and a third-party operator like Veolia is not uncommon and would be a good thing for Sapulpa.
“It’s similar to how we now use Waste Management for our trash service,” Dunham said. “They provide the service and bill the City for it. The difference (with Veolia) is that the City will retain ownership of the building and all the equipment.”
Dunham said that Veolia will “bring a lot of experience” to the facility. “The employees we have there now do an excellent job, they’re just young,” he said. “And Veolia will be able to train them on some things that we can’t currently do because we just don’t have the experience.”
Another benefit of the partnership would be the ability to handle certain repairs and upgrades in-house, like the upcoming emergency repairs to the Pleasant View Lift Station, another agenda item that was approved at Monday’s City Council meeting. That project, which has a cost associated with it of $320,000.00 and would’ve required an outside contractor anyway, will now be done in-house and should cost “a fraction” of that original price, according to Dunham.
The agreement stipulates an annual fee for the first year of $1,504,827. Sapulpa will have the option to renew for up to three additional five-year terms. Veolia will also be responsible for ensuring compliance with environmental safety regulations.
Dunham says that the City will still handle the billing, and that customers should not see any change in their water bill. The agreement begins May 1st.
