Monday, February 15, 2010
Capital Improvements provide additional sewer capacity to reduce spills and accommodate growth
Up to $6 million dollars being invested in two major projects already underway
Some of the current capital improvement projects at the MWA will include rehabilitation of sanitary sewer lines using pipe bursting or pipe lining with cured-in-place techniques, such as what was utilized to repair damaged sewer mains near the Macon Levee this past fall.
The Macon Water Authority (MWA) continues to pursue a number of capital improvements to upgrade its award winning system, providing additional sewer capacity to accommodate growth in north Bibb County, as well as work to reduce significantly sewer spills and overflows.
That philosophy to invest carefully in its infrastructure has brought the Authority industry recognition, such as awards in years past for the state’s best collection system and water distribution system, as well as last summer’s honor as the Best Tasting Drinking Water in North America.
The majority of the CIP work by the MWA is being done on the sewer side of operations.
One of the most critical projects involves two phases to rehabilitate sanitary sewers within the Corbin Avenue and Sabbath Creek areas of the system. The Authority is investing approximately $2 million for this find and fix project – roughly $250,000 in the evaluation (find) and $1.75 million in the rehabilitation (fix).
A portion of this total amount is being reimbursed with dollars from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, while the Authority obtains the difference via a loan from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA).
The first phase of this project entails the examination of approximately 180,000 linear feet of sewer mains 6” to 24” in diameter, as well as manholes, using closed circuit television, flow monitoring, smoke testing, and visual grading according to the NASSCO Pipeline Assessment Certification Program.
The second phase of the project involves the rehabilitation of those sanitary sewer lines that are in need of repair, as identified by the first phase of evaluation.
Another major sewer system improvement project soon to be underway at the Authority is the installation of approximately 17,000 linear feet of a 36” gravity sewer main from the Lennox Drive Lift Station to the Corbin Avenue Lift Station, which will run parallel to an existing 24” line.
The new sewer main will enable the Authority to eliminate the Lennox Drive Lift Station, while allowing for increased capacity to accommodate additional growth and development in north Bibb County.
More importantly, says MWA Executive Director Tony Rojas, the increased capacity from the new sewer main is expected to significantly reduce the number of spills that have been occurring in this area of the system. Authority officials expect bids on this project to come in between $3 – $4 million dollars.
More information on capital improvement projects ongoing at the MWA is available on the “Projects” pages of this Web site (www.maconwater.org).
Media contact:
Chris Wood, Ph.D.
770-757-1681 (cell)
jcwood@uga.edu (email)