[ back ]
$924,000 state grant pursued for sewage
(by Sali McSherry - October 29, 2008)
$924,000 state grant pursued for sewage
By SALI McSHERRY
Pepper Pike and Moreland Hills have applied for state Issue 1 capital-improvement funds to help pay for the conversion of sewage-treatment plants to pump stations.
The two communities are asking for $924,425 from the state toward projects estimated at about $4.6 million, according to Moreland Hills village Engineer Jeffrey Filarski, They hope to know the outcome of the grant awards in December, he said.
If they receive the grant, the money would help pay for the conversion to a pump station of Pepper Pike's Easterly treatment plant, also known as the Creekside plant, located off SOM Center Road (Route 91), between Pinetree Road and Shaker Boulevard. The grant also would help pay for Moreland Hills' Woodland Glen treatment plant on South Woodland Road (Route 87), east of SOM Center Road, Mr. Filarski said.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District would pay for the line that would run from its interceptor in Mayfield Heights to the Pepper Pike border at a cost of about $700,000. Pepper Pike city Engineer Donald Sheehy said the Cuyahoga County Sanitary Engineer's Office would pay about $200,000 into the project.
The ultimate plan includes converting two other treatment plants to pump stations in Moreland Hills, Quail Hollow, off Riverwood Drive, and Jackson Valley, off Basswood Lane. The Greentree treatment plant would be the only remaining one in the village, Mr. Filarski said. The village's treatment plants serve about 410 homes and business district.
Over the long term, Moreland Hills and Pepper Pike will save a significant amount by converting to pump stations, in which waste water is pumped through lines to the regional sewer district, Mr. Filarski said. But a significant point is that using pump stations will reduce the environmental impact by not discharging waste water into the Chagrin River, he said. It's a regional approach to the problem, he said.
Chagrin Valley Engineering, which provides services for both communities, has begun the engineering for the projects. If they move forward, construction is estimated to begin in mid-2009 with completion by 2011, Mr. Filarski said.
Moreland Hills has received a $350,000 loan with 1 percent interest over 20 years from state Issue 1 to convert the Jackson Valley plant. The village will spend about $1.65 million toward the conversions to pump stations, Mr. Filarski said. The village has about $2 million in its capital-improvements fund to use toward the upgrades. The rest may be financed, depending on the recommendation of the village treasurer.
Pepper Pike will spend about $1.13 million toward the cost of the projects, Mr. Sheehy said. The Easterly treatment plant serves 350 homes, Orange schools and the Lander Road business district. Operating a pump station there would cost about $40,000, he said, as opposed to $400,000 to operate the treatment plant.
The Easterly plant was built in 1962 and upgraded in 1986, Mr. Sheehy said. It becomes more difficult to replace treatment-plant component parts that are over 20 years old, he said. There's also a certain amount of pollution in the discharge from the plant to the main branch of Pepper Creek, he said.
Pepper Pike had a pump station installed last year on Kersdale Road in the northwest quadrant at a cost of $375,000, the sixth pump station in the city, Mr. Sheehy said.
[ back ]
