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The Stanly County Board of Commissioners approved two expenditures to repair process equipment failures at the West Stanly Wastewater Treatment Plant at Tuesday’s meeting.

Stanly Utilities Director Trey Wingo asked commissioners to approve replacement of the motor control center (MCC) at the McCoy Creek Pump Station. The MCC failed Oct. 25, 2023, Wingo said, “due to an electrical arc of the main breaker panel and the MCC panel.” The cost of the lowest bid, from Benshaw, Inc., was $138,375.50.

The other item, Wingo said, is the vertical turbine pump at the West Stanly plant, which has failed a second time “due to washout events that occur at the facility.” The lowest bid by Gopher Utilities to install a heavy duty irrigation pump to “prevent solids from entering into the pump volute and essentially hardening the pump against plant washout events” came it at $32,659.38.

Wingo asked commissioners to pass a budget amendment for $188,526, which includes a 3% contingency allowance to “cover any unanticipated situation that might occur.”

When asked about the MCC replacement timeline, Wingo said both bids had a timeline of six months for completion.

The costs were going to be part of the overall WWTP 2.5 MGD upgrade project, but according to professional opinion, the repairs can not be delayed. The changes were originally scheduled to be completed September 2026.