Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/277189
asked Garland. "We're trying to preserve the investment." All sewer lift stations have standby pumps driven by diesel engines, so if electrical power fails, the standby pumps will start working. But a deeper "wet well" and "surcharge" put greater demands on the back-up diesel-driven pumps. "That's the consequence of lowering the wet well," said Mitt Tidwell, director of city util- ities. "If … we make a decision to lower the wet well and the standby pumps, is there any portion of the structure we're saving?" THE CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE If these were local kids digging holes and running pipes under the sand to understand Plumbing 101, the results would be edu- cational for them. But a multinational firm called AECOM Technology Corp. — the orig- inal contractor on the Lift Station 87 project — failed the test and walked away from the disaster. Not only would its pipe under the bayou have been too shallow, it would have drilled through the base of the Osprey Avenue bridge. According to Garland, there was one other failure. AECOM planned for the lift station to operate in a surcharge condition all the time. "We don't think that's ideal, but that's how it was currently designed," he said. "If the wet well is not lowered, the new inlet pipe will enter at about floor level." Garland and his firm are picking up the pieces, but not fast enough for Topovski. "I would have requested this information in advance of this meeting," Topovski said. " D o y o u h a v e a r e c o m m e n d a t i o n ? " asked Tidwell. "You have an existing investment," said Garland. "But the trade-offs are a surcharge condition, and submerged conditions have odor consequences upstream. For that rea- son, I would not recommend submerged conditions, but the current plan calls for sub- merged conditions." STORM SURGE The headaches only grew. Topovski asked, "What happens in extremely wet weather?" The answers were not comforting for the city's project overseers or the neighbors. Tom Cross is the McKim & Creed task manager for that issue. "In a Category 5 storm, there will be a 35.4-foot storm surge" on top of the Robert Garland is the lift station project manager for the firm of McKim & Creed. Photo by Stan Zimmerman Sarasota News Leader March 14, 2014 Page 49