Wastewater Collection project could get new life with federal appropriations

Current progress on the Headworks project at the Wastewater Treatment Plant is ongoing, as efforts continue to expand the other parts of the project that had to be postponed due to cost.

by Marsha Chartrand

In the March 6 article about the new Headworks project now under way at the Manchester Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wastewater Treatment Supervisor Thomas Thompson explained how this particular project got brought forward for immediate action, while further improvements to accommodate future growth in the Village’s wastewater system, particularly west of the River Raisin, were put on hold due to budgetary restrictions.

Repeated delays by state EGLE, starting in 2019, delayed Wastewater Collection and Treatment Facility project by about 2 years. Costs increased so significantly during that time, by the time the project was approved, the village was unable to afford to do the entire project. So, instead, village administration focused on beginning the headworks project.

In mid-March, a representative from Congresswoman Debbie Dingell’s office approached Village Manager Michael Sessions and Village President Pat Vailliencourt, and asked what projects in the community might need funding. Of course, the first thing on the list was completion of the original project. So Sessions sought the approval of Village Council to proceed with the request for funding.

Thanks to quick action from Sessions and Vailliencourt, the village soon had a broad base of support letters from government entities such as County Commissioner Shannon Beeman, State Senator Jeff Irwin, and State Rep. Carrie Rheingans, as well as local supporters Manchester Township Supervisor Ron Milkey, Superintendent of Schools Brad Bezeau, The Manchester Masonic Lodge, The Manchester Community Resource Center, The Manchester Lions Club, and others. All noted the significant benefits to our community from receiving this federal appropriation.

The letter to Rep. Dingell from Vailliencourt stated, “Our wastewater collection and treatment project has been identified as a pressing need to ensure the long- term growth of the Village of Manchester. Presently, the Village of Manchester has an aging lift station that captures 80% of our wastewater which is then sent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. This lift station, while currently meeting the capacity of the community, is not sized to allow for the Village to take on additional growth. A new lift station would be poised to take on this challenge. In addition to that, needed storage in the form of an Equalization Tank is needed at the Wastewater Treatment Plant to hold capacity prior to treatment. The Wastewater Treatment Plant that the Village of Manchester operates, is limited by capacity due to the small parcel of land on which it sits. Much of the storage of wastewater prior to treatment today is done on the sanitary collection lines going to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the aging lift station, which can cause sanitary backups into people’s homes along that sanitary main. 

“Since 2019,” Vailliencourt continued, “the Village of Manchester has been working diligently with the State of Michigan’s Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund (CWSRF) program to complete these upgrades. Unfortunately, due to issues at EGLE and the Covid-19 pandemic, the project came in significantly over budget and was cut from funding. This has been an unfortunate consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic that all of us have been faced with in municipal government.”

Ted Erickson of IMEG, the Village’s engineer, in his report included with the application, summarized the requests that had been cut from the original project:

• Replace and increase the capacity of the Riverside Pump Station 
• Provide a new force main along Vernon Street from Riverside Pump Station to the WWTP
• Add an equalization tank at the WWTP to handle increased flow from the Riverside Pump Station.
• Miscellaneous improvements at the WWTP to upgrade outdated systems.

Erickson’s current opinion of cost for these remaining items is $5,280,000. The projects are designed and permitted and are ready for construction. However, as project submittal proceeded, Sessions learned that a 25% match would be required. This involved cutting back again on the amount of work that could be done, in order to accommodate the required match. Village treasurer Jack Gould has been working his budgeting magic to come up with $1 million reserve that might be used as a match for a $4 million project, which would include the force main, lift station, and equalization tank.

“This is federal appropriations not a grant or a loan,” Sessions said. “It is early days yet, at there are lots of steps along the way. If it becomes too unwieldy of a project, we may need to abandon it.

“But meanwhile, it presents some exciting opportunities to explore.”

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.