National Water Infrastructure expects to select contractors in August and break ground in September on a $185 million regional wastewater system in Ascension Parish, with substantial completion targeted for October 2028. Known as the Ascension Parish Regionalization Project, the undertaking calls fo r the construction of a “state-of-the-art” centralized wastewater treatment plant capable of handling 4 million gallons per day. The project’s design is complete, and NWI, a portfolio company of Baton Rouge-based private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners, has identified and qualified companies to bid on construction of the wastewater treatment plant and accompanying pipeline network, CEO Myron Lambert tells Daily Report. The company expects to receive bids in late July, and construction is anticipated to take roughly two years. “We do have ambitious goals and timelines,” Lambert says. The plant will be built along Ashland Road in Ascension’s industrial corridor. The location is far from residential neighborhoods, Lambert says, and allows for treated wastewater to be discharged into the Mississippi River. NWI plans to ultimately decommission 72 smaller treatment plants now scattered across the parish. Those plants currently discharge treated wastewater into local ditches and waterways and have become a source of recurring complaints from nearby residents. “You see people complain about these local plants on the news because they’re loud and, because it is sewage, sometimes they smell it,” Lambert says. “They’re in each subdivision. Whether a subdivision has 50 homes or 100, it’s got a package plant.” According to Lambert, the regionalization project will improve local water quality while addressing some of the noise and odor complaints associated with the aging neighborhood plants. The decommissioned plants will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Some will be demolished and returned to green space, while others could be converted into regional lift stations. Local officials have for years been discussing how to stop wastewater from being discharged into distressed waterways. Voters approved the sale of parish sewer assets to NWI in 2021, and the Louisiana Public Service Commission gave final approval to the regionalization project in 2023. Lambert says the asset sale has significant financial upside for parish government. “It’s estimated that the parish will save roughly $4 million annually on those aging infrastructure assets that we now own and will replace,” he says. “Over 30 years, it’ll probably save more than $70 million.” NWI is privately funding the construction and will not use any taxpayer dollars. As a regulated utility, the company’s investments and future rate recovery are subject to PSC oversight. Lambert compares the process to the regulatory review required when an electric utility builds a new generating plant. NWI must document its spending to the PSC, which determines which project costs are prudent and may be recovered from customers through rates. ...read more read less