Title
Resolution to Award a Contract to Posen Construction, Inc. for the Lime Sludge Lagoon Improvements Project ($275,808.00)
Memorandum
This memorandum and resolution requests approval to award a contract to Posen Construction, Inc. for the Lime Sludge Lagoon Improvements Project.
The Water Treatment Plant uses lime to soften its raw water to levels acceptable for public use. Without softening, the City’s drinking water would be exceptionally hard, causing scale on appliances, dishes, and fixtures, and requiring significantly more soap usage for cleaning. To remove the hardness minerals from water, lime is added to the raw water and a chemical reaction occurs that forms a precipitate of the hardness minerals. This lime precipitate, or sludge, settles out of the water and is collected, thickened, and pressed at the Water Plant to remove the water. The remaining solids are typically hauled off site and either landfilled or seasonally used as a soil amendment for farms. Prior to pressing the lime sludge, the Water Treatment Plant pumped its sludge to a lagoon that is located behind Wines and Forsythe Schools adjacent to M-14. This lagoon still serves as an alternative means for handling lime sludge when the Water Treatment Plant’s presses are out-of-service for maintenance.
The Lime Sludge Lagoon Improvements Project is necessary to rehabilitate the concrete weir structure at the outlet of this lagoon. This structure has deteriorated and the State of Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the party that regulates this impoundment, is concerned about its condition. As part of an agreement between the City and MDEQ, the City has agreed to repair this structure as well as install a new effluent flow monitoring device (for permit compliance purposes) by the end of December 2009. This project is included in the approved CIP for FY2010 at an estimated cost of $600,000.00. A competitive bidding environment and a partial reduction in the sco...
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