OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The City of Oshkosh moves forward with design plan for the Water Filtration Plant Clearwells Replacement Project, a project over a decade in the making.
- The budget for the project is currently $45 million.
- The project was spearheaded by the Wisconsin DNR, after they informed Oshkosh the filtration system did not meet regulations.
- The Oshkosh City Council gave public works direction on which design plan to pursue at their Tuesday night meeting.
At Lake Shore Drive, on the shores of Lake Winnebago, a fence surrounds large mounds of dirt– part of the City’s water filtration system.
“There’s 2 million gallons of treated water storage under that mound of dirt,” James Rabe, director of public works, says.
In 2007, the Wisconsin DNR informed the City that the filtration system did not meet regulations. So over the past decade, Oshkosh has been working towards the Water Filtration Plant Clearwells Replacement Project.
Part of the project plan is to beautify the area of Lake Shore Drive.
“A lot of the focus is what it would look like from on the lake,” Rabe says.
At the Nov. 25 meeting, the Oshkosh City Council gave the City a direction for a design plan of the area.
The plan will still undergo minor changes– Rabe says the design is only about 50% complete.
However, with council’s direction, the City is able to move forward in one direction, and begin entertaining construction bid offers.
“It’ll be nice to get this project moving forward,” Rabe says. “I've been in this role for 10 years, and we've been working on it the entire time I’ve been in this role."
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Rabe says the City plans to use the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program through the federal government to help pay for the project.
As the design is refined, the City will continue to ask for public feedback.
“There will be a lot more that people will here about this,” Rabe says.
Rabe estimates construction for the project won’t begin for another year or so, but will likely wrap up in 2029.
