Wastewater plant project approved

The Portales City Council moved the city’s new wastewater treatment plant project forward Tuesday by approving an award of bid contract for the construction of the $27 million wastewater project to RMCI, Inc., of Albuquerque.

Public Works Director John DeSha expects the group to break ground on the project shortly after their pre-construction meeting in April. The project is expected to take 14 months to complete.

“This is a big night for the Public Works,” said DeSha at Tuesday’s City Council meeting speaking to the importance of the project, which was awarded one of the largest loans the New Mexico Environment Department’s Construction Program Bureau has ever been involved with.

DeSha said there were many competitive bids, but RMCI had the lowest with an amount of $16.4 million.

The scope of work RMCI will do for the plant, which will replace the city’s outdated wastewater treatment plant, includes site grading and drainage, yard piping installation, a new lift station, and a new sludge pumping system among other tasks.

DeSha said RMCI was chosen because the group was well-qualified and showed proof that its built a structure of this nature.

He added the company has a positive history with the city, building its transmission line for the addition to the well field.

The project also contains a reuse center, the selling point which garnered such a large loan, which will extend the life of the city’s well field and allow the city to reuse groundwater to water the city’s schools, parks and cemetery.