VALDOSTA, GA (WTXL) -- Valdosta officials gave WTXL a behind-the-scenes look Friday at two major projects in the city.
They say the Withlacoochee wastewater treatment plant and a force main project are both ahead of schedule.
Valdosta was under water in 2009. More than two feet flooded the city, submerging the plant, putting it out of commission for more than a month. Aging pipes leaked sewage into the streets.
"The flood not only damaged the plant, it damaged the collection system," said Larry Hanson, Valdosta's city manager. "Much of it was filled with mud and sand and debris."
Now, six years later, the city is almost done with two projects that will keep water where it belongs.
"It'll eliminate the overwhelming majority of sanitary sewer overflows, and the actual discharge goes back to the river, which benefits the river," said Henry Hicks, Valdosta's utility director.
These projects are months ahead of schedule after being delayed for years. The city was denied funding from FEMA three times, despite being in a state of emergency declared by President Obama.
"Really, we were faced with some difficult choices," Hanson said. "Very expensive choices."
A $55 million dollar effort is moving the plant to higher ground and building stations that pump water out of low-lying areas.
"You see a road that has a pothole -- you see it, you repair it," Hanson said. "You can see pipes that are 30 or 40 [feet] deep in the ground."
By February, the millions of gallons of water from the pump stations will be brought to a new treatment plant, which had to be build after the 2009 flood.
"It really modernizes the system," Hanson said. "It prepares us for the future. It eliminates some Achilles' heels that we had."
"Everything's designed to be expanded in the future, so this will meet our needs for the next 20 plus years," Hicks said.
The city says the new force main will replace the existing 54-inch gravity sewer main that runs along the Withlacoochee River.
The projects are scheduled to be completed by late December or early January and to be fully operational by February.
