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underground structures. And they would collapse and fail. For Category 4, ditto; for Category 3, likewise. The predicted surges were smaller, but the ability of the structures to resist the overpressure of even brief sub- mergence was compromised. While most of the structures were expected to remain intact in a Category 2 storm, one of the four did not, according to testing. Unfortunately, it was the one vital to handling a hurricane — the standby diesel pump room. "What is the cost to build a new standby pump room?" asked Tidwell. "We don't want submerged conditions. We have to look at the options." "We'll look at that," replied Garland. "And the cost of a backup generator and the cost of upgrading that one structure to Category 2 [standards]." In other words, finding out what went wrong (Phase One) only led to, what do we need to fix it (Phase Two)? Why is the city going through this? The cur- rent lift station, No. 7, has failed repeatedly and dumped thousands of gallons of sew- age into Hudson Bayou and thence into the bay. It is still at work and could fail again, at any moment. The city is under a Florida Department of Environmental Protection consent order to fix the problem. And how much is it going to cost? That num- ber is still being figured, which only adds to the anxiety level of Topovski as the project manager. Meanwhile, the city has a lawsuit against AECOM, alleging incompetence. % Share stories by clicking the icon in the menubar and choosing to share via e-mail, post to Facebook or Twitter, or many other sharing options. QUICK TIP Search for text in stories by clicking the icon in the menubar and entering a search term. Search the current edition or all editions. QUICK TIP Search Only The Issue You Are Viewing Search All Issues Your search term here Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 50