Old Water Treatment Plant Demolition to Begin

The City of Ames has awarded a contract to LinnCo, Inc. of Sartell, Minn., to demolish the old water treatment plant located at 300 E. 5th St. Work is expected to begin soon, with an anticipated completion date of July 1, 2023. The new water treatment plant started operation in the summer of 2017.

The demolition will focus on the filter and chemical feed building, exterior clarifiers, administrative offices, and west reservoir. Improvements to the treated water and raw water piping will be included in this project as well. The high service pump station, north and east reservoirs, and Technical Services Complex (TSC) will remain. Aligning with the City's sustainability goals, this project will recycle at least 90 percent of the total waste generated.

"This facility provided clean drinking water to the community for nearly a century. With our new state-of-the-art water plant serving residents, we want to remove infrastructure that has reached the end of its useful life," said Neil Weiss, Water and Pollution Control Assistant Director.

Almost 30 former and current City employees were invited for a final tour of the old site. "Of those who took us up on the offer, we had 596 years of City service represented," said Water Plant Superintendent Lyle Hammes. "I believe that's a measure of what the facility means to employees who worked there and the community at large."

Demolition work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. One way to keep up to date on the progress is to follow the project livestream on the City's website, which will be available at a later date at www.CityOfAmes.org/oldwaterplantdemo.

As with any demolition project, there will be dust, noise, and increased traffic in the area. A fence surrounding the construction perimeter will be installed and maintained throughout the project. The public is reminded to use caution around an active demolition zone and consider viewing the livestream video rather than visiting the project site.