Bob Foos
Oronogo Mayor Charles Wilkins determined on Monday that “we’re going to have to curtail development” in a northeast portion of the city because two sewage lines are at capacity.
He arrived at that conclusion after Eric DeGrusen, of Allgeier Martin and Associates, presented a capacity evaluation of Lift Station B, the smaller of two lift stations on Ivy Road, to the Board of Aldermen.
According to that evaluation, there’s an 8-inch main feeding into Lift Station B that is creating a bottleneck because it is undersized. It is constricting the flow from 12-inch lines coming from the schools and area, including the Greystone subdivision.
DeGrusen recommended replacing the 8-inch line with a 12-inch pipe.
A higher priority, said Tony Cantrel, public works superintendent, is replacing the 8-inch line between Lift Station B and Lift Station A. That undersized line, he said, is limiting the amount that can be pumped from Lift Station B to Lift Station A. It wasn’t upgraded when the larger Lift Station A was built because of the cost savings – at the time.
In answering Wilkins’ question about current capacity, DeGrusen said, “You’re at a position that you shouldn’t be adding a big project.”
DeGrusen’s estimate to replace both lines is $721,354.
Wilkins said the council will have to “crunch some numbers” in the budget and have a plan ready for the Nov. 9 board meeting.
In the meantime, he said a proposed commercial development outside the city limits that would require hooking onto the sewer system will have to be postponed.
