It's Still Leaking Sewage

On Sept. 13 the city of Georgetown released a third report detailing the structural state of the Dove Springs Wastewater Treatment Plant -- and city officials claim it validates the contentions of folks on both sides of the Dove Springs saga. The plant has been at the center of several years of swirling political controversy in Georgetown, controversy that culminated in nasty infighting and the ousting of former Mayor MaryEllen Kersch in a February recall election. At issue is the city's wastewater treatment plant, originally built in 1993 for $2.2 million, which started cracking soon after the city put it in use. The plant's original engineers, Charles and Perry Steger of the Georgetown firm Steger & Bizzell, say there is absolutely nothing wrong with their original design: The tank was engineered properly and built with enough structural steel and concrete. An Austin engineer, Joe Luke from the firm of Jose I. Guerra, seemed to disagree -- though did not assign blame: He contended that the plant was not engineered with enough structural steel, leading to the cracking and leaking that has plagued the structure for nearly a decade.

The latest engineering assessment -- commissioned by the city council in March -- sought to put the question to rest. The city hired someone that everyone -- including the Stegers -- agreed on as a neutral party, UT civil engineering professor Richard Furlong. According to a three-page overview of his findings prepared for the city by Furlong, the methods the Stegers used to calculate the design of the plant was "in compliance with accepted structural engineering practice," he wrote. However, Furlong also found that the amount of steel needed for the design never made it into the subsequent construction plans -- in short, the tank does not have enough structural steel. "Consequently," wrote Furlong, "resistance to flexure along the base of the wall is only 25 to 30% of that which is needed according to the initial analysis that was used for the design."

Furlong told "Naked City" that while Steger did "a variety of correct things," in calculating the tank design, that design wasn't properly carried out. "The analysis told them they should use more steel," he said. "I have no understanding of why he overlooked [that]." At press time, Steger has not returned calls requesting comment.

According to Jim Briggs, the city's director of public utilities, the report actually validates both Steger and Luke's previous assessments. The report "confirmed positions taken by both parties," he said -- presumably that the tank was designed properly as Steger has maintained, and also lacks enough structural steel as Luke reported.

Briggs' assessment does not explain why there's not enough steel and why it took so long for the city to acknowledge that. Briggs said the City Council is reviewing Furlong's findings and will be discussing -- likely in executive session -- what to do with them. "At this point they'll have to evaluate what to do next," he said. "They've taken it into advisement and will have to come up with the direction they want us to take -- after digesting it with their attorney."