Wastewater Treatment Facility Analysis and Capital Improvement Plan Development

Abstract

This project addresses the City of Oakridge’s capital improvement planning and potential funding sources for the city’s aging infrastructure, focusing primarily on the wastewater treatment facility (WWTF). Throughout the term students and faculty toured the WWTF, and other locations and produced a SWOT (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) analysis. After aggregating and organizing best practices research from comparable communities (e.g. similar geographic and demographic characteristics), and discussing operational and resiliency needs at the facility, a complete policy analysis was conducted. Existing equipment upgrades as well as additional capabilities were evaluated and integrated into a consolidated CIP for the WWTF.

Subsequently, several recommendations were submitted for potential adoption into the City of Oakridge’s nascent Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) along with needed upgrades. Inflow and Infiltration concerns dominate the overall effective functioning of the WWTF in the near term. A detailed budget and strategy is included as part of the analysis.

In addition to the WWTF, students identified three additional areas for inclusion into the CIP, making general recommendations for water treatment, street maintenance, and public building (incl. energy efficiency) upgrades. These areas did not include a comprehensive policy analysis.