Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District’s board approved submitting new preliminary engineering reports to the State Revolving Fund at a special meeting Thursday, March 27. The board is looking to fund projects to improve both the water and wastewater utilities, which were not found grant fundable last year. Engineer Jeff Hersha, left, is pictured reviewing paperwork while board member Dan Mikolajczak and Vice President Bob Dumford sign off on the applications. Photo by Lilli Dwyer.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

CROMWELL — Turkey Creek Regional Sewer District held a special meeting Thursday, March 27, to pass resolutions on submitting its application for grant money to the State Revolving Fund.

The board will be applying to fund five wastewater projects and four water projects. A public hearing on these projects will be held before the next regular board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 21.

Board President Jim Boone could not attend the meeting, so the board first voted to allow Vice President Bob Dumford to sign all official documents.

Wastewater Improvements

For wastewater improvements, the board wants to eliminate three septic systems near Wawasee and Papakeechie lakes — one at Enchanted Hills housing addition, Cromwell, for $2,974,000; another on Hiawatha Lane, Syracuse for $530,000; and another on Circle Drive, Syracuse, for $837,000.

Another project would replace the out- of-date Sunset pump station and relocate the Buttermilk Point pump station to the east, replacing Sunset with a new gravity system, which will extend to the new Buttermilk location. The cost is $1,182,000. The application also includes relocation of the force main on Eli Lilly Road, Syracuse, for $253,000.

The force main at the A1A pump station also needs replacement, and the board wants to replace and abandon all asbestos concrete lines for a cost of $783,000. Jeff Hersha of Jones and Henry Engineers noted the asbestos concrete pipes are outdated, but not harmful to anyone unless they are cut through.

Lastly, the application includes replacement of a 30-year-old portable generator at the plant for $100,000.

When the board applied to the SRF last spring, the projects were not found grant fundable. Hersha explained this time the application will focus more on septic elimination, “which is a high priority for IDEM.”

“It’s always been a high priority for Turkey Creek because the septic elimination is what keeps the bacteria out of the lake. We probably didn’t stress it enough in the previous report because we were concerned with the capacity issues and treatment here at the plant,” he said.

Since then, the district has been working on installing new, 11-foot rotors at the plant to increase plant capacity with its own money, making other projects a higher priority for grant funding.

Water Improvements

For the water utility, the board is applying for funds to replace a 60-year-old well at the plant, which is no longer meeting standards for $309,000.

Also at the plant, the board wants to add a new aeration tank for $2,311,000.

Another priority project is to replace water mains and add additional hydrants, valves and meters to the water system. Engineer John Magsam explained the utility has many older pipes in 2-inch or 3- inch sizes, when they should be at least 6 inches. With grants funds, the board plans to replace these with 8-inch mains, as well as replace and abandon all asbestos concrete pipes. This project will cost $6,249,000.

The final water project is a new, 75,000-gallon water storage tank to increase water capacity for $1,782,000.

The board passed two resolutions to allow Dumford to sign off on submitting both water and wastewater applications to the SRF.

Hersha mentioned due to recent executive orders reducing government spending, funding from the SRF is “up in the air.”

“Last year, they did not get restored to 100% of their funding, and they were only able to fund, I believe, five projects in total. … If they had given all the money requested, they’d be out, so what they did is they provided $7.5 million to each of the first five or six, top-scoring utilities,” he said.

If the board receives partial funding this year, it can supplement the grant money through other means or pare back the projects for a lower cost.

Finally, the board passed another resolution declaring its intent to reimburse the district for past projects using SRF funds. Dumford said about $700,000 had been spent on improvements since November 2023, and some original capital could be replaced by grant funding.