Sulphur considering public emergency to replace wastewater treatment UV disinfection system

Sulphur, LA (KPLC) - The City of Sulphur is considering declaring a public emergency to expedite the bid process to replace an ultraviolet disinfection system in the city’s wastewater treatment.

The UV disinfection system is only used for wastewater and not in water that is shipped to Sulphur residents, Mayor Mike Danahay said.

The public emergency declaration will be considered at a special-called City Council meeting Thursday.

Danahay said the city’s wastewater plants sustained millions of dollars worth of damage during Hurricane Laura which included the UV disinfection system. He says city workers have been able to keep the UV disinfection system functional since then, and have used other systems to disinfect the water when it did not work.

However, he says the system is reaching the point that it is beyond repair.

According to Danahay, a new UV disinfection system will cost about $650,000 and is needed to stay in compliance with the Department of Environmental Quality.

The City will be seeking reimbursement from FEMA for this.

Danahay says the public emergency declaration is to help expedite the normal public bid process. This will speed up the various steps that have to be taken in order to make a public bid.

“We don’t do it often and we don’t want to do it often,” Danahay said. “This is a situation where we are in a true emergency.”