Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/309372
Commissioners were concerned when they heard the Lift Station 87 design could not w i t h s t a n d s t o r m surge flooding from a Category 2 hurricane. The design is unusual because the facility was planned to be totally underground. When asked previously if they ever had seen a sewer lift station completely underground, both Tidwell and consulting engineer Robert Garland of McKim & Creed admitted they never had. Any flooding or storm s u r g e i m m e d i a t e l y would begin to exert water pressure on the tops of the eight "silos" that constitute the original design. One of the critical facets of the project was not suffi- ciently reinforced to withstand the pressure. Failure could mean one-third of the city's toilets — including all of them at Sarasota Memorial Hospital — would be inoperative. An artist's rendering shows how landscaping could be designed around the new Lift Station 87. Image courtesy McKim & Creed We feel it's prudent to go with Category 3. Robert Garland Consulting Engineer McKim & Creed Sarasota News Leader May 9, 2014 Page 30