FAQs

Yes, there will be additional public meetings.    

The Lake Road lift station project is only constructing the replacement of publicly-owned wastewater infrastructure and will not be connecting individual properties or homes to sewer.  This project has no impact on resident’s existing septic systems and will not require mandatory sewer connection.  Once the project the Lake Road lift station project is complete, it will enable the formation of sewer improvement districts for the Canary Lane, Red Mesa Heights, and Connected Lakes neighborhoods.  Formation of a sewer improvement district requires a majority vote of residents within the district.

• The suggested alternate location on the north side of Highway 340 is owned by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).  CDOT indicated that this property is needed for future growth along Highway 340. 
• City Staff have also completed an initial review of the property to determine if it could be a viable location.  It currently serves as a drainage area with two large diameter storm drainage culverts that discharge into this 3-acre area and, therefore, the space may be restricted for construction.  There is an approximate 30-foot depression that would require a retaining wall and/or a mechanically stabilized soil slope for construction of a lift station at this site, which would present a construction and cost challenge.  If construction would be permitted, there may not be sufficient space to accommodate City maintenance and chemical delivery vehicles. 
• Further, this location would not allow for expanding service to the three sewer improvement districts (Canary Lane, Red Mesa Heights, and Connected Lakes), and addressing the current problems at the Ridges Station with access for City vehicles.

No, the Lake Road lift station has a maximum monthly average hydraulic capacity of 0.59 million gallons per day.  

Yes, however, the Lake Road location was determined to be the lowest cost alternative that meets project objectives and requirements.

Mesa County is currently coordinating an update to the official Colorado River Floodplain hydraulic model and base flood elevations for the Colorado River through Grand Junction including the proposed lift station site. The City and its engineering consultant have been working with the County and their consultants to incorporate the most up to date understanding of flood conditions at the proposed lift station site. The finish floor elevation and the top of the wet well elevation will be 2-feet higher than the FEMA identified base flood elevation, which is a specific requirement of Mesa County for critical facilities located within a floodplain. It is the nature of wastewater conveyance systems that they commonly are located within floodplains because they are typically at the lowest elevations of the surrounding sewer service area. The required fill and site grading is to ensure the lift station meets City, county, and state design requirements and can safely remain in operation during a 100-year flood condition. The impacts of the proposed site grading to the hydraulic model base flood elevation are being evaluated by the county and their consultants. The City will follow the required county permitting process to confirm no negative storm related impacts are made to the surrounding area by this project. The City’s current understanding from the latest model results is that no flood currents above 1.5 feet per second (very low) is expected near or around the lift station site; only a base flood elevation of assumed backwater during a 100-year flood condition.

Excavation will be limited to the trench width required for the pipeline construction within the roadway. The contractor will safely perform excavation for this area with trench boxes and other bracing mechanisms during construction to protect nearby slopes. A geotechnical engineer will be involved throughout construction to observe excavation and testing for backfill material testing.

(City) Bypass pumping would be required or using Vactor trucks to haul wastewater away during a pipe repair.

Yes, the design engineer may be liable for property damage, economic damage, bodily injury and wrongful death resulting from alleged negligence of a design.  Typically, contractors assume less liability as they have an inchoate defense if the contractor constructed according to the design.  The City requires that all contractors procure and maintain a policy or policies of insurance sufficient to insure against all liability, claims, demands, and other obligations assumed by the Contractor for the project.  

We do not anticipate any sanitary sewer overflows from a failure because there are various contingency plans and equipment redundancies to maintain continuity of operations. The Lake Road Lift Station includes a cutting-edge design focused on averting sanitary sewer overflows through multiple redundant systems. Continuous real-time monitoring is implemented to keep track of the status and operation of all equipment within the lift station. This monitoring involves sensors, software, and other technologies to provide constant updates on the station's performance.  In the event of an electrical power outage, an automatic activation of a backup diesel generator ensures uninterrupted power supply to sustain pump operations. Moreover, should the pumps encounter issues, the maintenance team possesses the capability to employ external pumps using the force main, initiate bypass pumps, or utilize pumper and vacuum trucks to ensure ongoing functionality. An advanced alarm system alerts maintenance staff to any after-hour incidents. We have a dedicated maintenance team available on call 24/7/365, ready to swiftly respond to any emergent issues that may arise, ensuring consistent operational efficiency.  

Anticipated leaks or spills from the Lake Road Lift Station are not foreseen due to its state-of-the-art design, complemented by continuous maintenance and thorough inspections. The City employs advanced robotic CCTV camera technology alongside pressure testing of sewer lines, ensuring the infrastructure's integrity and condition. Nevertheless, this project is expected to yield a substantial positive impact on water quality in the Connected Lakes area over the long term.  Approximately 165 homes in the Connected Lakes, Canary Lane, and Red Mesa Heights subdivisions presently discharge untreated sewage into septic systems, ultimately releasing it into the ground near the surrounding ponds. With these septic systems aging and prone to failure, there's a risk of contamination, involving E. coli, chemicals, as well as nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus seeping into the groundwater and ponds.  The Lake Road Lift Station project is believed to significantly enhance water quality in the area by facilitating the future connection of these 165 homes to sanitary sewers. Once connected, their waste will be gathered and conveyed to the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant for the highest quality treatment before being returned to the Colorado River. This crucial step will mitigate the environmental impact caused by the current discharge methods, thus promoting healthier and more sustainable water ecosystems in the region.

The City and its engineering consultant are in agreement that the lift station needs to include design components to address the natural odors that are possible when transporting municipal wastewater. The goal of these design components is to eliminate odors present and to limit potential impact to nearby homes. As the lift station is currently designed with odor control chemical addition, the City and its engineering consultant believe the chance for odors at the proposed lift station will be minimal to non-existent. The lift station wet well, and the mechanical pumps, have also both been designed to specifically limit the time wastewater is held at the lift station, therefore limiting the opportunity for odor accumulation at the lift station site. As influent flows increase, the hydraulic retention time will decrease because the pumps will be operating more frequently to transport the wastewater to the wastewater treatment plant. A contributor to odors at lift stations is long hydraulic retention times which gives wastewater the chance to produce the odor-causing gases. At the proposed lift station, the design focused on reducing the hydraulic retention time based on average influent flows.

The pumps at the new proposed lift station will be located below ground level and housed within structural concrete and a brick building so there will be little to no noise outside the pump building when the pump(s) are running. 

The City currently owns and operates 27 wastewater lift stations. Many of these lift stations are in residential subdivisions and nearby homes and businesses do not experience odor problems.

Wetland delineations along the proposed pipeline alignments and the proposed lift station site have been completed by an environmental consultant. The only recognized wetlands found during the fieldwork were very small areas of fringe wetlands around the edges of the two ponds and on the edges of the Redlands Power Canal. The proposed project will not have an impact on these identified wetlands as the project will not involve digging in or disturbing these areas.

Due to the elevation gain (uphill) between Ridge’s Blvd, where the Ridge’s #1 lift station is located, and the high point in Broadway/HWY 340 (near Country Club Park Road), the sewer can’t flow by gravity to the north toward the City wastewater treatment plant. 

The Ridge’s #1 lift station pumps the wastewater to the high point of HWY 340, then the wastewater gravity flows to the inverted siphon located on the HWY 340 bridge (Colorado River). Due to the limited space, there is no space available next to the Ridge’s #1 lift station for a new replacement lift station to be constructed.

The 2024 recommended budget for lift station projects, which includes the construction of the Lake Road lift station project is $7,250,000. The funding source for this project is the Sewer Enterprise Fund.    

The Persigo Sewer System is jointly owned by the City and the County for the benefit of all properties within the Persigo 201 Sewer Service Area which includes properties that are both within City limits and outside the City limits within the County.

Water treated through the Persigo wastewater treatment plant is eventially returned to the Colorado River which supports water conservation. Once the City sewer line is connected to the residence, the only costs are those for service and to maintain the line from the connection into the home. Septic systems on the other hand must be regularly maintained and replaced every 15-20 years. There is also the potential for environmental impacts due to leech fields and the risk the septic system fails.

Yes, the City is pursuing the lowest cost option which meets the project goals. The City evaluated total costs (capital and operating) over a 50-year period of the final three options considered for this project.  The Lake Road lift station option was determined to be the lowest cost option on both a total cost basis and a cost per person served.

All new sewer manholes that are located within the FEMA mapped floodplain will receive manhole lids that are gasketed and bolted down to prevent the lids from floating in a flood event and to prevent infiltration of flood water into the sewer system. The finish floor elevation of the proposed Lake Road Lift Station will be 2-feet higher than the determined base flood elevation. The proposed lift station is considered critical infrastructure and is being designed to state, county, and FEMA requirements.

The City is proposing to install sewer service pipe fittings and a 4-inch sewer service pipe on the sewer mainline pipe that is in Lake Road between McFry Road and Mitchell Road to potentially serve the houses on the northside of Lake Road. This way the sewer connection infrastructure is ready for connection when the Connected Lakes neighborhood forms a Sewer Improvement District (SID). It will require that the Connected Lakes neighborhood form a SID for sewer mainline pipe to be extended to all the other streets with sewer service connections provided.

No permanent changes to riparian habitat areas are anticipated as part of this project. The City is preparing environmental studies with the design team to identify all riparian habitats that may be impacted during construction. The City will then require the contractor to minimize impacts to these areas during construction and specify the reseeding requirements.

There is an existing City irrigation line located in the existing driveway access for the City’s irrigation pumphouse for the Ridge’s community. This line will be removed to allow for installation of the proposed Ridge’s gravity sewer line. A proposed new 20-inch diameter irrigation pipe will be installed to convey irrigation water to the Ridge’s community. The new irrigation pipe will have to successfully pass pressure testing before it can be put into service. Per City specifications, the project will install clay cut-off walls periodically within the pipeline trenches. Clay cut-off walls act as a barrier to stop the flow of water through gravelly pipe bedding. The concept is that if a pipe develops a leak, the water travels through the gravelly pipe bedding, taking the path of least resistance, then comes to a clay cut-off wall barrier where the water will typically appear on the surface notifying City crews of a potential leak.

This project is not violating local, state, or federal plans or regulations.  

The proposed Lake Road pumphouse will be located about 90-feet south of Lake Road.  The perimeter wall around the pumphouse will be located about 65-feet south of Lake Road.  The City will be meeting with the property owner to determine if any adjustments can be made to the site location and property set-back of the lift station from Lake Road.

In the event of a sewer line repair anywhere in the collection system, the wastewater is typically bypass pumped from an upstream manhole on the sewer line to a downstream manhole on the sewer line. This allows the sewer to stay in operation while repairs are completed. 

We don’t have a current 2023 cost estimate for the Red Mesa Heights sewer improvement district. If there is sufficient interest from the property owners in the Red Mesa Heights area to connect to sewer we can schedule a community meeting to discuss this option and prepare preliminary cost estimates.