Althegnenberg - The days of the Althegnenberg sewage treatment plant are numbered.
The operating license will expire in 2030 and there will be no new license.
The community has to spend millions - no matter which variant wins the race.
Connection according to Mering is the desired solution
A connection to the AWOP (Abwasser Zweckverband Obere Paar) in Mering (Aichach-Friedberg district) would be the desired solution for the community.
The association, which includes Kissing, Merching, Schmiechen and Steindorf as well as Mering, is currently examining the admission of Althegnenberg.
Two reports on this have been drawn up.
They were supposed to calculate how big the pipeline system to Augsburg is in the sewage treatment plant there and whether it could absorb the wastewater from Althegnenberg.
Both were positive, as Mayor Rainer Spicker reports.
Another advantage over a new building or renovation would be that "a small plant like Althegnenberg can never work as cleanly as a large sewage treatment plant," emphasizes the town hall chief: "The connection would be the best solution."
The wastewater treatment plant in Althegnenberg was built in the late 1980s and is a so-called pond wastewater treatment plant and not a mechanical one.
After the rake basin, the wastewater flows into two settling basins, where it is aerated with three large compressors.
The sewage sludge is disposed of every three years, which was the case this year.
Investigations by the Water Management Authority (WWA) had shown some time ago that the concentration of ammonia in the wastewater was too high, so they looked for ways to solve the problem.
If the connection to the AWOP does not come about, the municipality would have to decide on a new building or a renovation of the current sewage treatment plant.
One thing is certain, however: Both would be considerably more expensive than the connection.
Total costs of almost five million euros
An engineering office estimated that the connection would cost just under 4.9 million euros.
This includes not only the costs for the almost seven kilometer long pressure line to Mering, which has to be laid, but also the fee that is due if Althegnenberg “buys” into the AWOP, as it is called in technical jargon.
There would be funding of one million euros for the pressure pipeline.
There are no subsidies for a new building (4.7 million euros) or an upgrade (4.1 million euros), according to Spicker.
The neighbors Mittelstetten and Adelshofen are currently renovating their facilities.
But it's too late for Althegnenberg to get in there.
A connection to the Mammendorf network is also no longer possible.
Because Hattenhofen was only recently accepted there - in Mammendorf there is no longer any capacity for a municipality the size of Althegnenberg.
What also speaks in favor of a connection to the AWOP is the environmental concept.
A large system cleans the water better, says Spicker: “In the long term, this is clearly the better model.
We also know that our system does not clean optimally. "
In the 1980s, the facility was perfectly adequate, but the town has grown steadily since then, emphasizes the town hall chief.
The utilization is therefore higher, and the requirements for sewage treatment plants are different today than they were back then: "At that time, the cheapest variant was built, the growth of our community was not yet in sight."
Citizens also have to pay for investment
Incidentally, the funding has already been applied for.
Should the AWOP give the green light, one could start planning immediately.
It is not yet clear how the investment costs will be passed on to the users of the system - i.e. the citizens - as stipulated by law.
