By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green is planning to spend $1 million to prevent sewers from backing up in basements in the Village Subdivision.
It has been at least five years since the city has received reports of flooded basements in the Village Subdivision which is located on the north side of West Poe Road, just west of the Bowling Green High School.
But the risk still exists, according to Bowling Green Utilities Director Brian O’Connell.
The Village pump station was originally constructed in 1965 to serve the subdivision. The configuration of the pump station and wet well make maintenance difficult, O’Connell explained. The dry pump pit was constructed directly on top of the wet well and the only access to the wet well is through the pump pit. The wet well is undersized which can cause short cycling of the pumps.
“The pump station is in a very difficult location,” O’Connell told the Board of Public Utilities on Monday evening. “We don’t build them like that today.”
Some basements in the area experienced flooding by sewage several years ago due to the pump station being overloaded. The basement issues have been mitigated by removing inflow and infiltration into the sanitary sewer as well as by city maintenance staff putting in back-up pumps when flooding first appears, O’Connell said.
The improvements proposed are to construct a new wet well, submersible pumps, control house with variable frequency drive, supervisory control and data acquisition communication, backup pumping connection, backup generator connection, and force main.
The preliminary construction cost estimate is $1 million.
In August of 2022 the Village project was nominated for an Ohio EPA construction loan and it was included in the 2023 OEPA funding list. These loan funds are available from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. Due to the additional funding that OEPA has available, the project was listed as potentially eligible for a principal forgiveness loan.
“We don’t typically qualify for that because of our income level,” O’Connell said.
To take full advantage of the potential for a principal forgiveness loan, O’Connell recommended that the city prepare construction plans in order to get the project out for bid and apply for the loan.
The project was not included in the city’s 2023 budget but was listed in the five-year capital plan for 2024. Because the city would be receiving revenue from the loan, the project should have minimal impact on the 2023 budget overall. The city will also be in communication with OEPA staff regarding the availability of the principal forgiveness loan funds as the year progresses.
The board approved a resolution for engineering and construction contracts and a second resolution for the OEPA/OWDA loan agreement.
There will not be disruption to sewer services during construction, O’Connell said.
