City of Laurinburg
Produce Market Road Sewer Collection Improvements
McGill supported the City of Laurinburg with grant development and administration, project planning, design, and construction phase services for the Produce Market Road wastewater collection system project. This project replaced or repaired 9,282 linear feet (LF) of sewer line, nearly the exact amount estimated in the grant application. The final project improvements also included rehabilitation and replacement of 100 LF of force main; replacement of a lift station and a new wetwell; and installation of new pumps, piping, valves, and related appurtenances. The project also included the installation of an emergency generator, bringing the area system in compliance with North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) standards.
The Challenge
The City of Laurinburg owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant and collection system that serves residents, businesses, and industries within the City. The wastewater collection system project area serves Produce Market Road and numerous side streets that extend to the west and east. The system in these areas was comprised of 8-inch vitrified clay pipe (VCP) and brick manholes that were installed around 1974 (49 years old). The project also required the replacement of the existing Produce Market Road Lift Station on Geneva Street. The Produce Market Road system serves an existing low-income area of Laurinburg that experiences significant issues with inflow and infiltration (I/I) of stormwater into the wastewater collection system, including extensive and repeated flooding during heavy storm events that often resulted in sewerage back-up in residents and businesses within the project area.
Our Solution
Through an NCDEQ Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-I) funding application submitted in the fall of 2017 and awarded in early 2018, the City of Laurinburg was awarded a CDBG-I grant totaling $2 million to rehabilitate and replace nearly 10,000 LF of existing 8-inch gravity sewer lines and approximately 40 brick manholes and related appurtenances. McGill designed the system to address the aged-infrastructure in alignment with CDBG-I funding requirements. Specifically, the final project improvements included rehabilitation or replacement of 9,282 linear feet of gravity sewer, 100 LF of force main, replacement of the lift station, a new wet well, and the installation of new pumps, piping, valves, and related appurtenances. The rehabilitated sewers reduced the level of I/I coming into the system, helping the Town to maintain capacity for sewer flows in this area and at the treatment facility. Improvements, also including installation of an emergency generator bringing the area system in compliance with NCDEQ standards and achieving one of HUD’s primary goals of providing modernized infrastructure and improve access to opportunities for vulnerable populations in the Produce Market Road area.
The Results
The project benefited a total of 208 persons and 133 households, 91% of whom are low- and moderate-income individuals. CBDG-I funding has stricter requirements than many of the other funding sources that McGill applies for to address wastewater collection issues; however, for a project of this nature in a community clearly in need, CDBG-I funding was the perfect match to make this project possible. When it is possible to address wastewater issues in an area that may have a large number of low- to moderate-income households, McGill assists in surveying residents to identify the exact percentage of households and ascertains if there is a high likelihood of success obtaining CDBG-I funding.
“The new pump station and force main helps the system to keep up with the flow for area. With back-up power, these operations can continue even during power outages, greatly improving the reliability of sewer service for these residents.”
As part of any CDBG project, McGill assists with documentation of fair housing activities, including sharing information about fair housing practices at community events.
Partnership
Innovation
Quality