Local & State Headlines

Meet Albany's unsung heroes

• Public Works personnel are vital to the behind-the-scenes functions of the city of Albany.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — When two of the aging pumps in the city of Albany’s maze-like system of sewer lines and sanitary pump stations shut down recently, city Public Works crews kept busy through the night and the next day vacuuming waste products from sewer lines.

Residents in more than 4,000 West Albany homes slept peacefully that night, oblivious to the fact that, had Public Works not reacted to the emergency quickly and efficiently, raw sewage very well could have backed up into their homes.

“When people wash stuff down the drain or flush their toilets, that’s the end of it as far as they’re concerned,” Michael Capps, a 35-year veteran supervisor with Albany’s massive Joshua Street waste water treatment plant, said recently. “It’s out of sight, out of mind. But we’re the people in between who make sure waste is disposed of properly while still keeping our (Flint) river clean.

“Nobody thinks about where the waste goes; we do that for them.”

The staff at the treatment facility and the crews that respond to emergencies such as the one that threatened to back sewage into city homes are part of Albany’s Public Works department, the massive, 159-person department that carries an annual $26 million budget.

Headed by veteran city employee Phil Roberson, considered one of the most vital components of Albany’s unsung, behind-the-scenes staff, Public Works is responsible for the upkeep of some 550 miles of city streets, 350 miles of sanitary sewer lines, 200 miles of storm drainage lines and the proper disposal of more than 17 million gallons a day of sewage that flows into the treatment plant.

“A lot of people don’t really understand or appreciate the services that Public Works provides,” said Roberson, who started his career with the department in 1974 as a $1.85- an-hour laborer and worked his way up to department director in 1999. “We provide services to the citizens of the city, but we also are vital to the operation of plants like Procter & Gamble and other large industries.

“We average around 17 million gallons of water a day at the treatment plant, and 6 1/2 million gallons come from P&G. They are by far our biggest customer; they pay between $3.2 million and $4 million a year to treat their waste water.”

INFRASTRUCTURE

As Albany officials look to rebuild the city’s downtown area and focus on the customer services provided its citizens, one of the buzz words that has cropped up during City Commission meetings and during one-on-one conversations is “infrastructure.”

Some of the city’s sewer lines were installed in the mid- to late-50s, and that’s a concern to the people responsible for the upkeep of the sewage system.

“The old concrete that was used for the sewer lines back in the ’50s is in reasonably good shape,” Ann Zimmer- Shepherd, Albany’s sewer systems superintendent, said. “But the gasses that are a part of the process of waste disposal eat away at the concrete, and that’s a concern.

“There are huge sections of our sewer system — I’d say about 30 percent of the overall system — that need an upgrade. What we want to do is reline areas like the Westside Interceptor with materials that will stop the erosion. The city spent around $35 million in the ’90s to upgrade much of the sewer system, but we could easily spend another $35 million.”

The warnings being sounded by Roberson, Zimmer- Shepherd and others in the city are not going unheeded. At their February retreat, city officials made infrastructure upgrades one of their ongoing priorities.

“One of the things city staff is best at is looking for opportunities to do a deal now that will save us money down the road,” Commissioner Bob Langstaff said. “By going digital with the Motorola tower before we had to, we saved a couple of million dollars. That’s the approach we’re taking with our plans to improve infrastructure.

“If opportunities present themselves, I think we would look at things like grants, matching funds and government appropriations as ways to help fund these items. And they certainly will be at the top of the list when we look at the next SPLOST (special- purpose local-option sales tax). Things like the improvements at Thronateeska and the (Flint RiverQuarium) aviary are nice, but at some point we have to say enough is enough.”

Commissioner Dorothy Hubbard echoes the concerns expressed by her colleague.

“We really have to start paying attention,” she said. “When you’ve got infrastructure that’s 50 and 60 years old, you have to be aware that it’s not going to last forever. We’re in a position where we have to start getting some of these projects going now.

“It’s crucial that the public understands what we’re up against. The quality-of-life projects are nice, and they certainly enhance our city. But infrastructure is vital.”

That, officials say, is where Roberson and his crew become a crucial part of the process.

“We have to look at the needs of our citizens, but infrastructure goes beyond that,” Commissioner Roger Marietta said. “That’s a critical factor in bringing in new industry. We have to take care of our existing infrastructure and be willing to invest in the future.

“Phil Roberson and the folks in Public Works do a tremendous job, but we can’t expect them to do miracles. We’ve got to make improvements for the future of this city.”

For now, Public Works crews closely monitor their responsibilities and equipment. Ricky Adams and his Denver- based Operational Management International staff are under contract to maintain the motors and pumps at the various lift stations, and theirs is a daunting task.

“When some of the major pumps go out, we’ll sometimes try to move some of the smaller pumps to keep the (sewage) flow going,” Adams said. “We’re trying to keep up with the repairs and replacements, but that’s not an easy thing. These are not like simple water pumps; these are complex machines.”

WATER TREATMENT

The process of treating water at the Joshua Street plant is a fascinating one. As the 17 million gallons flow into the plant, the first order of business is separating and removing solids.

“It’s not just the organic matter either,” Roberson says. “There’s everything from bowling balls to baby carriages that get into our sewer system. And when it rains, the amount of grit, leaves and limbs is incredible.”

During Albany’s most recent rain episode, when only a half- inch fell in the city, 35 million gallons of water poured into the plant.

Once separation is achieved at the plant, microorganisms eat as much of the biosolids as possible, and water is then chlorinated, dechlorinated and sent to the Flint.

“EPD requires that the water that goes into the river be at least 85 percent clear of suspended solids,” waste water plant supervisor Earl Cone said. “We average around 95 to 97 percent.”

Water is then removed from the sludge that remains, and the “cake” that is left is loaded onto trucks and delivered to farms in Alabama to be used as fertilizer.

“This whole process, it’s not a pretty job,” Capps said. “But the bottom line is, all the city’s waste in the sewer system stops here. It’s a job that has to be done. We take that seriously, and we work to attain the best quality that we possibly can.”

That, Roberson says, is vital to the city’s citizens and to its continued growth.

“It’s a cliche,” he says, “but the sum here truly is no greater than the parts. No one’s worried about the credit; everyone works as a team. The ‘system’ I believe in is to hire quality people and let them do their job.”

That’s a system that fits in well with the city’s future plans.

“We can’t rest on accomplishments,” City Manager Alfred Lott said. “We have to be visionary, look 5, 10, 15 years down the road. We know what challenges we face, and we have to prepare for them. And infrastructure is our No. 1 challenge.”

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