Medaryville opens bids for lagoon project

Two bids were received and opened by the Town of Medaryville on March 26.

During the bid opening, the bids of $880,000 and $718,000 were opened. The bids were not approved, but will be reviewed and a recommendation will be made to the town council by the McMahon Group, an engineering, architecture and building firm, that was hired by the town to oversee the lagoon project.

The upgrading of the lagoons is needed for the sewer treatment system to be in compliance with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management guidelines. In 2013, the town was advised of being in violation of the wastewater permit in 2011.

According to town officials, the state made changes to the permit but the town did not receive it, causing the data to appear as noncompliant. Violations include the lagoons not consistently meeting the current E. coli limits because of excess algae.

Because of the noncompliance threat, the town has been a part of a pilot bio-dome wastewater treatment that has proven to work.

If the town fails to comply with the state then a penalty of $2,500 per day could apply.

On Aug. 19, Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann announced that Medaryville is one of 12 Indiana communities receiving grants totaling more than $5.4 million for wastewater and drinking water programs. The funding is managed by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) and made possible by the federal Community Development Block Grant.

The total project is estimated to cost about $850,000. As part of the grant requirements, the town is responsible for a match of $400,000.