The Beaver Dam Common Council this past week approved plans to move forward with several resolutions that pave the way for major upgrades and expansions of the city’s wastewater treatment facility. Beaver Dam was awarded $20 million in stimulus money last month and the plans are to expand their outdated wastewater treatment plant and incorporate green technology into the upgrade. Alderpersons approved a professional services contract with Applied Technologies for construction services at a cost of $964,000. The contract for the actual construction was awarded to low-bidder C.D. Smith of Fond du Lac, whose total base bid was $16.8 million. Half of the $20 million is an outright grant while the other half is a low-interest, tax-free loan. The plan will allow the city to pre-treat waste from Kraft Foods and convert it to biogas which will be used to generate electricity, saving the city about a quarter million dollars a year in electricity costs. In addition, Alliant Energy will buy surplus electricity from the city, estimated at another quarter million dollars annually. The project should be complete by the end of next year.
