Douglas Water Commission Schedules Budget Session After $100,000 in Surprise Repair Costs

DOUGLAS -- January 13, 2026, Douglas Water Civil Commission flags roughly $100,000 in unexpected wastewater plant repair costs. Systems Manager Bob Sullivan reported at the January 13 meeting that a decanter pipe failure in tank 2 triggered a cascade of breakdowns, including failed influent and decant valves on tank 1, a dead rooftop HVAC unit, and a failed commercial hot water heater estimated at $20,000 to replace, forcing staff to manually operate valves every three hours to keep the plant running. Sullivan said he anticipated a 50 percent increase in sludge disposal costs tied to PFAS restrictions tightening at regional acceptance facilities. On staffing, one water operator hire accepted an offer to start February 2, while a wastewater operator posting must be reposted after an error in the original listing. The commission scheduled a special budget session for January 27 at 7 p.m. to work through a first-draft budget that shows a $96,000 increase in the services line driven largely by the Syntagro sludge contract.