Improving Resiliency & Reliability Through Cost-Effective Upgrades
Tighe & Bond assisted the Town of Stratford in an evaluation of its six largest wastewater pump stations to determine recommendations for cost-effective capital improvements to the Town’s wastewater infrastructure. After developing recommendations for immediate, short-term, and long-term improvements, Tighe & Bond provided design and construction phase engineering services for immediate and short-term improvements to five of the stations. The immediate upgrades centered on safety improvements and were funded by the Town.
The short-term upgrades centered on improving both the reliability and energy efficiency of the pump stations, as well as markedly improving their ability to quickly recover from major storm events. For example, dry pit-submersible pumps were installed in the stations because they are resistant to flood damage. The upgrades were designed to meet State and Federal regulations, enabling the stations to remain operational during a 100-year plus 3-feet flooding event.
Creating an individual hardening plan for each station’s structure, the project team used a combination of micropiles, carbon fiber reinforcement, pilasters, and base matting for additional foundation, strengthening of the below-grade walls and rebuilding of above-grade walls that would withstand increased water pressures. Using an individualized approach for each station reduced construction costs for the Town.
An updated HVAC control system was implemented to enable the pump stations to handle changing climate conditions such as cool, moist air blowing in from the waterfront. Upgraded electrical systems and instrumentation and controls were installed to operate and monitor the stations. An enterprise-wide telemetry system was provided to the operators in order to receive real-time monitoring data of each pump station and to maintain a safe environment for operation and tracking of datapoints for efficiencies.
Each pump station was evaluated for a variety of hazardous building materials. Tighe & Bond completed a Hazardous Building Materials Assessment (HBMA) at each of the pump stations and summarized the findings in an HBMA Report. The final pump station construction documents included drawings and specifications as appropriate for the removal and appropriate disposal of all hazardous materials.
Tighe & Bond assisted the Town in persuading the CTDEEP to eliminate what was a $4M per year per community cap receiving a 2% interest loan from the State’s Clean Water Fund. This enabled the Town to fund upgrades to all stations as a single contract. In addition, Tighe & Bond provided bidding and construction phase engineering services for this project, and construction was completed by the end of 2022.
Services Snapshot
Tighe & Bond provided design, bidding, and construction phase services for the upgrades to five wastewater pump stations. In addition, Tighe & Bond conducted an evaluation of six pump stations, and provided a proposed list of phased upgrades for the stations.
