The City of Tyler in Texas has selected civil engineering firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) to design improvements to two of its major sanitary sewer basins. Scott Taylor, City of Tyler’s managing director utilities and public works, says the improvements are a critical part of the #Time to Build campaign established in 2016, an effort to rebuild Tyler’s aging water and sewer systems. The campaign pledged $100 million dollars on 100 infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.
In April 2017, the City developed and implemented a Capacity, Management, Operation and Maintenance (CMOM) program to perform a comprehensive review and upgrade its wastewater collection system as well as enhance its existing operation and maintenance practices. The city's wastewater collection system includes more than 690 miles of sewer mains ranging in sizes from 6 inches to 54 inches in diameter, more than 9,000 manholes, and 24 sewage pump stations. Currently, nearly 50% of the existing sewer system is over 50 years old.
Improvements to sanitary sewer basins eight and 15, were identified as high priority. A team led by LAN will select prioritize, package, design, and support construction improvements to the two basins, which includes 379 pipeline segments (more than 46,000 linear feet of pipeline) and almost 900 manholes. Garver, an Arkansas-based engineering firm, will provide design support to LAN while Adams Engineering, a local Tyler firm, will be providing consulting, construction management, and inspection services.
“The City is executing a number of measures to manage, operate and maintain its wastewater collection system systematically and efficiently, and better respond to emergencies such as sanitary sewer overflows,” says Justin Reeves, P.E., LAN’s senior associate and team leader.
The design phase will be completed in 2019. Construction on the $10 million project will be completed in December 2020. Last year alone, the City spent $20 million dollars, 13% of the city’s total budget, on maintenance, repair, and improvements. The city projects that 65 to 75% of these projects will be paid for in cash from the Tyler Water Utilities Fund.
“The state of our infrastructure is one of the most pressing issues we face as a community,” says Taylor. “Our jobs, quality of life, economic competitiveness and public safety are all dependent upon it. Much of Tyler’s infrastructure (streets, water systems, drainage systems and sewer systems) has reached the end of its useful life. Two years ago, the Tyler City Council made a pledge to modernize and build anew our community’s infrastructure. The benefits of this stronger, better infrastructure system will be far-reaching and long-lasting.”
