A project to address sewer pipe and manholes that have been found to be leaking inward has been approved by the Brookings City Council.
“It’s called ‘inflow and infiltration’ or ‘I&I’ where groundwater and storm water seep into the sewer pipes and impact the capacity of the sewer system,” said Public Works/Development Services Director LauraLee Snook. “This results in higher costs as we are processing water through the Wastewater Treatment Plant that does not need to be treated as sewage.”
The City Council awarded a $536,151 contract to Michel’s Corporation of Salem Oregon to line some 10,000 lineal feet of eight and 10-inch sewer main, make lateral repairs and rehabilitate 17 leaking manholes. Work will be done at various locations.
“Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommendations for maximum I&I for a sanitary sewer collection system is 275 gallons per capita per day (gpcd),” Snook noted. “Currently, during large storm events, the system can reach 627 gpcd. This means we are spending more money on chemicals and electricity than we need to be spending. It also has the effect of artificially limiting our capacity.”
The need for a more aggressive I&I program was identified in the 2016 Wastewater Facilities Master Plan and the City Council directed that reducing I&I be made a top priority in the 2016-17 budget.
“More work will be coming in future years,” Snook said. The City has approximately 175,000 lineal feet of gravity sewer main.