Environmental Science & Engineering - www.esemag.com - June 2003
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New drainage project improves water quality of international waterway
By Robin Woodbury,
Premarc Corporation,Michigan
Lake St. Clair’s Metropolitan
Beach in Macomb County,
Michigan was closed most of
the summer of 1994 due to persistent
readings of high levels of
Escherichia Coliform (E. Coli). Although
the cause of the E. Coli was not
conclusively identified, it had been
alleged that some of this pollution
could be attributed to Combined Sewer
Overflow (CSO) coming from the Red
Run Drain.
The Federal Clean Water Act of
1977 mandates that all discharges of
pollutants into the waters of the United
States must be authorized by a
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) permit. The
Southeastern Oakland County Sewer
District System (SOCSDS) Twelve
Towns Retention/Treatment Facility
(RTF) was originally authorized to discharge
treated combined sewer overflows
(CSOs) into the Red Run Drain,
a tributary of the Clinton River that
flows to Lake St. Clair, an international
waterway. This 2.2 mile-long RTF
was one of the first CSO control projects
constructed in the US. When completed
in 1973, it was considered stateof-
the-art.
Time, however, revealed many deficiencies.
While the storage volume of
the facility approaches the standards
now accepted by the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ), the configuration was insufficient
to protect the environment.
Rainfall events that exceed 1/2 to 3/4
inches in depth can generate large
overflow volumes. Due to the mixing
of sanitary and storm water, this discharge
is inevitably contaminated with
human, commercial and industrial
wastes. The CSOs that are discharged
from the Twelve Towns RTF were
thought to have contributed to the high
levels of E. Coli found at Metropolitan
Beach.
Political pressure to address these
deficiencies led to a solution known as
the George W. Kuhn Drainage
Improvements Projects. Through the
cooperative effort between the
Oakland County Drain Commissioner
and the 14 communities that now make
up the George W. Kuhn Drainage
District, a mutually agreeable program
was developed to upgrade the RTF to
improve the water quality of the
Clinton River and Lake St. Clair.
Contract One of the new drainage
improvement project dealt specifically
with removing and rerouting storm
water inflow from the Twelve Towns
RTF, thus reducing the frequency of
overflow of sewage to the Red Run
Drain. The new system was designed
to intercept existing combined flows
from a 60-inch and 72-inch line that
previously discharged directly into the
retention treatment facility without
benefit of pre-treatment. The new system
rerouted flow to a point upstream
for future connection to the treatment
facility proposed as a part of Contract
Four.
Construction of Contract One,
started in October of 2000, was completed
in July of 2002. The project consisted
of the installation of two new
storm drains that run parallel to the
RTF. These two parallel drains are
known as the North Drain and South
Drain.
Construction of the North Drain
included installation of approximately
9,600 linear feet of main line pipe
ranging in size from 78-inch to 126-
inch diameter reinforced concrete pipe
(RCP). Construction of the South
Drain included approximately 8,100
linear feet ranging in size from 66-inch
to 126-inch diameter RCP.
Numerous impediments were
encountered during construction of the
new drains. Additional time and energy
was spent snaking the pipe around
utilities so that services were not disrupted.
To limit impact on local traffic,
construction through the road crossings
was performed during weekends.
Coordination of construction activities
was crucial around a recreation
facility known as the Red Oaks Wave
Pool. While the North Drain followed
the property line of the wave pool
complex, the South Drain went directly
through the facility’s parking lots.
Work on this portion of the project was
completed during fall and winter to
ensure the opening of the complex in
the spring.
Due to lack of space, and fear of
damaging the existing RTF, soils from
the excavation of the new storm lines
could not be placed on or near the RTF.
A solution to the temporary storage
and disposal of excavated soils was
found at the Red Oaks Golf Course
where construction was to proceed
through the facility. When the newly
restored Red Oaks Golf Course opens
in the spring of 2004, golfers will face
a new and more challenging course
constructed with the spoils of the Kuhn
Drainage Improvements Projects.
Public concern arose, however, over
the soils that were being excavated
since a portion of the golf course covered
an area that was once used as a
landfill and incinerator. In conjunction
with the MDEQ, the Oakland County
Drain Office, held numerous public
meetings informing and educating the
public on the monitoring and dust suppression
programs which were in use
during this portion of the project.
Forty-two major storm drains were
disconnected from the RTF and reconnected
to the North and South Drains.
Storms and flooding of the construction
site were a major concern for the
contractor, so a warning system was
established that sounded an alarm
when rainstorms were approaching.
This allowed time to get people out of
the RTF before the storm.
Improvements to the Twelve Towns
RTF included 15 projects under five
separate contracts. All of the projects
were incorporated into the facility’s
NPDES permit. The estimated project
cost for these 15 projects is nearly
$144 million (US).
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