The project is on schedule and on budget
The expansion of Owensboro Municipal Utility’s Cavin Water Treatment Facility is on budget and on schedule despite a very rainy summer. This $46 million project will expand the facility from a capacity of 10 million gallons per day to 30 million gallons and enable OMU to shut down its aging Plant A treatment facility, which is experiencing settlement of its filter building contributing to two water main breaks over the last two years. Portions of Plant A, which has a capacity of 18 million gallons per day, were constructed as early as 1905.
The Cavin Water Treatment Facility, constructed 25 years ago, was designed for expansion. Most of the current expansion is not visible from the road, as much of the work is taking place three stories down, building on the original piping and design elements of the plant.
The project includes the addition of two 10-million-gallon-per-day trains, a new lime treatment system, the replacement of chlorine gas with a liquid disinfectant, an additional 2.5 million gallon storage tank, a new 36-inch main and new eight-inch sludge line. The three trains will allow OMU to provide ample amounts of safe, reliable water to its customer-owners in Owensboro as well as the three water districts it serves. In addition, the state-of-the-art design allows portions of the plant to be removed from service for maintenance and upgrades.
Aging water infrastructure is an issue nationwide, as older systems across the US experience maintenance issues. In a proactive long-term decision, OMU developed a plan to expand and update its second and smaller water production facility, the Cavin Plant. Two water rate increases were approved to fund this expansion for a total of $5.09 per customer per month.
The time-lapse video shows the construction and excavation taking place throughout July, despite torrential rains.