At a recent meeting, Milford City Council approved a contract with KCI Technologies for the engineering services required for the well and water treatment plant for the new water tower planned near the Milford Corporate Center. The new water tower and treatment plant were part of a referendum passed by voters earlier this year.
“We’ve already gone under contract for the water tower,” Willis Shafer, Director of Public Works, said. “So, the next task for our engineering firm is the well and water treatment plants. There’s five different tasks, the well house process design, well house electrical instrumentation and control design and then the project management course. The cost for all of that is $165,850.”
Councilman Jason James mentioned that the project was approved as part of the 2024 capital budget, asking whether those were the funds to be used. Shafer explained that this would be part of the larger infrastructure component of the Milford Corporate Center with a budget of $7.5 million.
“The reason why I asked is because wherever these funds are drawn from, as the lots sell, that fund will be replenished, the dollar amount will be returned,” James said. “So, this will not have any impact on rates.”
Council approved the contract for engineering services with a vote of six to zero. Councilman Danny Perez and Councilwoman Katrina Wilson were absent from the meeting.
In addition to the well contract, council also approved the purchase of chlorine scrubbers. Shafer explained that the State of Delaware requires daily water treatment steps and chlorine is one of those requirements. Currently, the city is using chlorine tablets but wants to transition away from that. According to Shafer, chlorine tablets must be dissolved in water before being added to the system which can lead to irregular readings with staff having to test multiple times each day.
“Most municipalities are transitioning to chlorine treatment with gas to save budget dollars and have a safer treatment process, but the transition does require treatment plant upgrades,” Shafer said. “It would require the removal of the existing treatment equipment, construction of a concrete pad, electrical upgrades and the purchase of a chlorine scrubber. The city has four water treatment facilities and has approved funding in the FY25 budget for Kenton’s plant and FY26 for the 10th Street plant. The current cost of a chlorine scrubber unit is $88,000.”
Willis explained that council approved $75,000 in 2024, but the city chose to have an engineer determine how the unit would be installed. In 2025, the manufacturer increased the cost to $88,000. The Office of Drinking Water and the engineering consultant approved the chlorine scrubber upgrade for both plants.
“What we’re trying to do here is to get off chlorine tablets,” Steve Ellingsworth of Public Works said. “Chlorine causes hard water residue. We have one at Seabury Avenue that is on gas and that is easy to maintain.”
Council approved the purchase at a cost of $170,000 with a vote of six to zero.
