Hawthorne Lift Station Renovation Project

Hawthorne Lift Station Renovation Project

On August 14, 2023, the City Commission authorized hiring Abonmarche to prepare plans to renovate the Hawthorne Lift Station.  The work is needed because the lift station is in poor condition based upon a rating conducted during the 2017 Asset Management Plan (AMP) process.  The 2017 AMP was completed in large part using a Stormwater, Asset Management, and Wastewater (SAW) Grant funded through the State of Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).  The City, with the assistance of Abonmarche, secured a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Block (RDBG) Block grant in the amount of $73,260 for the design work.  The total design effort is estimated at $99,000, with $83,700 of that being Abonmarche’s fees.  The remaining $15,300 is to install an electromagnetic flow meter, also known as a magmeter, to measure the flow rates pumped by the existing lift station.  The magmeter is necessary because the existing pumps are at the end of their useful life and likely not pumping at their rated capacity.

The scope of the project is more involved than a typical lift station renovation project.  The Hawthorne Lift Station appears to be experiencing a significant amount of rainfall dependent inflow and infiltration (I&I) which needs to be identified and removed prior to rehabilitation of it.  Also, the existing lift station configuration is antiquated and retrofitting the existing wet well, dry pit and building will need to be analyzed to determine the most cost-effective method of rehabilitation.  Replacement of the existing pumps is not possible since they are no longer manufactured and some parts have to be fabricated when repairs are necessary.  This not only leads to higher maintenance costs but also heightens pump stations reliability concerns.

Abonmarche’s scope includes an I&I investigation, survey work to confirm the property boundary, a geotechnical investigation, preliminary design, final design, and bidding and grant administration assistance.  The USDA grant is limited to design services and the City intends to pursue grant dollars for the construction phase of the project with assistance from Abonmarche.

The grant opportunity required re-prioritization of planned lift station renovation work.  The budget originally called for undertaking the ALCO and North Pier Lift Station Renovations before the Hawthorne Lift Station, but establishing that order was not without debate.  For example, at the time of project selection it was thought that the ALCO Lift Station did not have a bypass connection, but one was discovered recently.  All of the lift stations are in poor condition, and the ALCO and North Pier Lift Stations contributing areas and flows are smaller than the Hawthorne Lift Station.  The ALCO Lift Station actually pumps to a gravity sewer that flows to the Hawthorne Lift Station.  Given that, the Hawthorne Lift Station has a higher consequence of failure than the ALCO and North Pier Lift Stations.  Additionally, the ALCO and North Pier Lift Stations were not good candidates for the RDBG grant opportunity.

Please feel free to contact City Engineer Tim Zebell (telephone: 269-983-5541, email: tzebell@sjcity.com) with comments or questions on this project.