South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority (SDEDA) and Ellsworth Air Force Base (EAFB) built a joint wastewater treatment facility in Box Elder, SD during the summer of 2014. The $16 million project is expected to be a cost saver for both the city and the base, which needs to upgrade its existing facilities. EAFB and the City of Box Elder evenly split the cost of the facility, but the facility is owned by the state and overseen by the South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority (SDEDA).
The new facility handles three million gallons of wastewater a day and officially became operational in July 2014. The construction portion of the project included construction of influent parshall flume; process building with fine screening, pumping, sludge dewatering, blowers and electrical equipment; grit removal structure; sequencing batch reactor (SBR) structure; administration building with laboratory, offices, break room, and garage; UV disinfection structure and pressate lift station. It also included installation of preselected SBR equipment, site work, yard piping, and electrical and mechanical system work associated with the improvements.
PSI is responsible for providing operations and maintenance services to the newly operational plant. Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
- General operation of plant equipment, valves, and piping (includes quality control program)
- Operation of WWTP laboratory (includes process control testing program)
- Quality assurance/quality control sampling, monitoring and lab analyses
- Waste and effluent disposal (compliance with applicable permits including submission of Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMR))
- Preventive maintenance (PM) inspection program (includes performing PM and corrective maintenance, preparing PM reports, and maintaining PM records)
- Housekeeping, cleaning, and care of grounds (including janitorial services)
