Representatives from BG Consultants, Manhattan, and city workers participated in a design review meeting at city hall to discuss plans for the new facility, which is expected to cost $2.7 million.

The city already has secured a $400,000 community development block grant. The remaining money will come through a Kansas Department of Health and Environment revolving loan.

City administrator Shane Krull said user fees and tap hookups for new residential and business structures will likely increase, but that will depend on what bid the city council decides on. Once contractors present bids, the council is expected to choose a firm by late March.

The new plant will replace the aging structure and expand capacity from 400,000 gallons per day to 750,000.

When the new structure is complete, the current facility will be used as oxidation ditches for storm-water detention, something the city currently does not have.

Pat Cox, BG Consultants, said plans are on schedule for the facility.

“Things are going great,” Cox said after meeting with Krull and officials with the public works department. “We’re just jumping through all the hoops we need to go through to get to the end point.”

Some plans for the new facility include a process lab building that will house a laboratory, a plant office and storage facility for sludge-processing equipment.

The new structure also will use aeration basins instead of the current anaerobic digesters. An ultraviolet disinfection system will be constructed to treat discharge before it runs into the creek, a required mechanism the city hasn’t had before.

“It’s going to be a state-of-the-art facility,” Cox said.

The city hopes to open bids for the plant on March 11.