(KAIR)--The city of Atchison is moving forward in the process of upgrading the filtration system in the city's water treatment plant.

City Public Works and  Utilities Director Justin Pregont says the upgrade started last year after Commissioners approved a contract with the engineering firm Burns and McDonald, authorizing them to design the new ozone filtration system. As preliminary work progressed, the company was also studying what needed to be done with the plant's actual filters.

Representatives from Burns and McDonald presented the findings of this latest study to Commissioners during their meeting Tuesday, and Pregont says that “We now know exactly what we need to do with our filters to make sure our ozone process works perfectly”. He says it was possible that they would have had to start from scratch and go through a considerable rebuilding process, which would have been very expensive.

Pregont explains that the plant's current filters are not compatible with the new ozone process. He says that “Right now, our filters operate physically. They are just physical filters...In order for the ozone to work properly, we have to convert those physical filters to operate biologically. That takes some time, and the filters have to be set up differently. Essentially, there is a film of biological organisms that exist on top of the filters. By going to ozone, unless we take our filters biological, then we are not gaining the full benefit of having the ozone in place”.

Pregont says they will be applying for a state loan to help fund the project. The next step in the process includes the publishing of a public hearing, set for the March 2nd City Commission meeting that will explain the upgrades and how they will be funded.