The Meridian City Council on Tuesday received an update on the city’s efforts to comply with a federal consent decree addressing its dilapidated sewer system.

Ron Thompson, of Waggoner Engineering, which is overseeing the consent decree work, said the city was making progress on several fronts, including addressing the frequent sanitary sewer overflows that put Meridian in the EPA’s sights.

“That’s really what created the situation for Meridian to be involved with the concept order,” he said.

Meridian had no SSOs in October, but heavy rain in December overwhelmed the city’s system and caused several problem areas to overflow, Thompson said. While the goal is to have no SSOs, he said the most recent reports showed the city was making progress.

“All the things you’re doing now are driving down the chance for those SSOs,” he said.

Jason Gault, of Kimley-Horn engineering, said the city is required to send a list of chronic SSOs as part of its required reporting to the EPA. Chronic SSOs can only be resolved after two years of no reported overflows at the problem location. The way to do that is fix the problems that led to the overflows to begin with, he said,

Public Works Director David Hodge said monitoring programs and policies that are being launched as part of consent decree requirements will set the city up to monitor problem areas and address issues long before they reach a chronic SSO status.

“The essence of the consent decree is to build the muscle within the organization,” he said.

Work is also underway to bring a fats, oils and grease coordinator onboard in Public Works to monitor and address greases and oils being dumped into drains, Thompson said. Those materials can build up and create clogs in a sewer system that can be difficult to remove.

The FOG coordinator will check oil and grease traps at restaurants, educate residents and work to reduce the amount of grease introduced into the city’s sewer system. Hodge said Public Works has already filled the FOG coordinator position, and the employee, who was a pump technician, will be taking on his new duties as soon as he finishes training his replacement.

Councilman George Thomas asked Waggoner and Public Works to suggest an ordinance setting FOG policy and outlining some penalties for those who violate the law.

As the city works to set policies and train staff, there is also a lot of construction work going on in relation to the consent decree, Thompson said. Ongoing projects include the Highway 80 Trunk Line Part A Phase II project that is under construction. A project is ongoing to replace a 54-inch sewer line leading to the south wastewater treatment plant, and sewer and stormwater repairs are ongoing in the medical district. Highway 80 Trunk Line Part B is in the design phase, and the west Meridian trunk line project is also in the design phase and set to be bid out later this year.

Repairs to a broken pipe under Sowashee Creek south of Dale Drive are also underway, Thompson said, as are upgrades to both the city’s south and east wastewater treatment plants.

Thompson said the council will need to consider issuing a second $41 million bond to continue progress on the consent decree. The city issued the first $41 million in 2020 and has about $15 million that has not been tied to a particular project, he said, but upcoming projects will eat up that much and more.

Without a new bond, the city will be $12 million to $15 million in the hole by the end of 2024, Thompson said. By the time the city makes all of the needed repairs to its sewer system, he said, the cost for the consent decree is expected to crest $100 million.

Waggoner and Public Works have also been working to find grants and other revenue that can reduce how much of that $100 million has to be raised by Meridian taxpayers. Earlier this year the council approved using the city’s $8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to apply for a dollar-for-dollar match through the state. Those funds are already being used in some of the city’s water and sewer projects.

The city has also been lobbying Mississippi’s representatives in Washington, Thompson said, with about $15 million in earmarks working through the system.

The City Council receives quarterly updates on consent decree work with the next update expected in June.