Spindale Asset Management Plan
In 2012, SDG Engineering Inc. prepared an Asset Management Plan for the wastewater system for the Town of Spindale located in Rutherford County, North Carolina.
The Town of Spindale’s wastewater collection, conveyance and treatment system has 1,700 customers with a population base of 4,321 people, covering a land area of 5.5 square miles. The annual Enterprise Fund is over one million dollars.
Key assets of the system:
- 3.0 million gallon per day (MGD) Wastewater Treatment Plant rehabilitated in 2019
- 61 miles of pipe
- 1,132 manholes
- 7 wastewater lift stations
The Asset Management Plan (AMP) was developed for the town’s wastewater collection, conveyance and treatment system. It was prepared in conjunction with the 2012 Sanitary Sewer System Replacement Project, which replaced approximately 1.2 miles of gravity sewer nearly 100 years old. The AMP was funded through the North Carolina Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) program. The AMP followed the guidelines of CTAM 200: Developing an Asset Management Program, published by the Buried Asset Management Institute – International.
An asset inventory was conducted as part of the AMP. This provided a comprehensive knowledge of all the system’s assets, their criticality and condition. The extent of the criticality and condition assessment was limited due to funding. However, it was the first time Spindale had a global view of all their system assets in such a manner. An interesting result of the development of the asset inventory was the revelation that the town had 61 miles of sewer pipe and 1,132 manholes. Prior to this, the town historically believed that they had 30 miles of sewer pipe and 900 manholes. This touches on one of the key aspects of developing an Asset Management Plan: know what assets you have, where they are located, and what condition they are in.
Pre-Construction
Post-Construction
Another key outcome of the AMP was the identification of a top priority project in the Capital Improvement Plan, rehabilitating the town’s aging wastewater treatment plant. The town submitted an application to the CWSRF program to rehabilitate its wastewater treatment plant. They received a nine million dollar loan at zero percent interest over 20 years. One million dollars of this loan was forgiven by DWI (as a form of a grant). This project was completed in 2019. Read about it here.
Comments Regarding the Spindale Asset Management Plan:
Cameron McHargue, Spindale Town Manager:
“The Asset Management Plan significantly enabled the town of Spindale to logically organize and address the critical needs of its aging wastewater system. Moreover, the process resulted in financial analyses that created an appropriate rate structure to accomplish the necessary work. This rate plan forms the backbone of current and future years’ budgets, thus taking the annual “guesswork” out of annual financial planning. The entire program really brought together a full understanding of all the complex components of the sewer system and the work required on them. This helped give the elected Town Board confidence in knowing that they will be spending the right amount of money, at the right time, on the right items.”—Cameron McHargue, former Spindale Town Manager. Mr. McHargue was town manager for 5 1/2 years, from December 2009 through June 2014. He was manager during the development of the Asset Management Plan.
Kim H. Colson, P.E.:
“The Town of Spindale and many towns across the country are working with aging water and wastewater infrastructure. The North Carolina Division of Water Infrastructure recognizes the need and efforts required for asset management planning, such as that implemented by the Town. Asset management is critical in addressing this issue to ensure that public water and wastewater utilities can provide the most efficient, reliable service to its citizens, businesses, and industries.” —Kim H. Colson, P.E. Director, NC Division of Water Infrastructure
Dr. Tom Iseley, P.E.:
“I serve as the Chairman of the Board for the Buried Asset Management Institute-International (BAMI-I). I became acquainted with Mr. Kurt Wright, P.E., President of SDG Engineering, while BAMI-I was developing their second online course (CTAM 200) that is a component of their national/international certification program for water asset managers, and SDG was in the initial stages of developing the Asset Management Plan (AMP) for Spindale, NC. Assisting SDG with the Spindale project proved to be a great opportunity to develop and conduct real-world tests on the principles and practices described in CTAM 200. I was very impressed with SDG’s commitment to excellence and professionalism. The SDG team stayed focused on the goal of providing the highest level of quality service to their client. It was more than just a data collection and map development exercise. They were committed to getting “buy-in” at all levels including the Mayor and Town Council. I participated in several of these meetings and was impressed with the creative tools SDG developed to achieve this objective. Most manuals on asset management mention how important “buy-in” is but never mention how to achieve it. SDG proved that the effort paid off when it came time to accept the future rate structure. As a result of Mr. Wright’s commitment to excellence and contributions to the industry, he has been confirmed as a member of the Board of BAMI-I. I am looking forward to continuing to work with him.”—Dr. Tom Iseley, P.E. Beavers Heavy Construction Distinguished Fellow, Purdue University. Executive Director of BAMI-I. Professor Emeritus, Louisiana Tech University. Director of Development, Trenchless Technology Center, Louisiana Tech University
Presentations
The results of the Spindale Asset Management Plan were presented at the 2014 WEFTEC Conference in New Orleans and the North Carolina American Water Works Association and Water Environment Association state conference in November 2014 by Kurt Wright, P.E., BCEE. A copy of the paper is available here.
Learn more about the Spindale Wastewater Treatment Plant Rehabilitation