Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/297477
City utility staffers and engineering con- sultants are on the verge of abandoning an existing structure at the new Lift Station 87 and recommending digging a new and deeper hole. For the past two months, they have danced around the decision, knowing the abandonment of one facility to build another could be time-consum- ing and controversial. During the monthly meeting of senior city utility staffers and consulting engineers on Monday, April 14, more deficiencies in the original design surfaced. Robert Garland, project manager with the consulting firm of McKim & Creed, said, "We've made some design changes for emergency power. The existing system uses engine-driven pumps when the power goes out to transport the flow. From the time power is lost to when the pumps kick in is about an hour delay and causes overflows into the system." "The flow" he is talking about is roughly one- third of all the sewage produced in the City of Sarasota. Garland rec- ommended scrapping An image from a section of the city website dedicated to the Lift Station 87 project shows work under way. Image courtesy City of Sarasota HUDSON BAYOU SEWER STATION PLANS CONTINUE TO EVOLVE DESIGN DRAMA We should evaluate the existing structure and decide if we can rehabilitate it or replace it. It might be faster and cheaper to build a new one. Robert Garland Project Manager McKim & Creed By Stan Zimmerman City Editor