Walters-Morgan Construction, Inc. of Manhattan has been awarded the construction contract for phase one of the wastewater treatment plant improvements.

The City received three bids for the project and Walters-Morgan was the only one to come in under the engineers estimate of $8,700,000; their bid was $8,644,276. The other two bids came in $500,000 and $800,000 over HDR’s estimate.

Phase I of the project will include improvements to the east and southwest wastewater treatment plants that are considered high priority improvements.

The project will be financed through a loan from the Kansas Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund. That loan will then be paid off using the revenue from yearly wastewater utility rate increases through 2024.