Acme, Traverse City Explore Infrastructure Options

Officials in both Acme Township and the City of Traverse City are exploring options for upgrading their infrastructure, including their water and/or wastewater systems.

Acme Township trustees held a special meeting Tuesday to review preliminary findings from Gosling Czubak, an engineering services firm hired by the board in February to study the feasibility of creating a public water supply in Acme. The township – which has a sewer system but lacks its own municipal water – has long hoped to build a water system, with that goal appearing for years in the township master plan.

Trustees aren’t looking to construct a township-wide system but rather one that could provide water specifically to the US-31 and M-72 corridors. Acme has lost multiple potential commercial developments and multi-family housing projects because public water hasn’t been available to service the growth. John Iacoangeli of Beckett & Raeder, which provides consulting services to the township, told trustees in February that focusing on water for Acme’s economic development zone would also discourage sprawl into agricultural areas. “It would preserve the rural character of the balance of the township by focusing concentrated development in areas along your commercial corridors,” he said.

Gosling Czubak looked at three options as part of the feasibility study: Acme Township developing its own complete water system with township-controlled water sources, treatment, storage, backup power, and distribution; Acme developing its own distribution lines, but connecting to East Bay Township’s water supply (eliminating the need for water storage and treatment); and Acme developing its own distribution lines, but connecting to a water supply owned by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

In the economic development zone being considered for water hookups, there are currently 86 potential customers, including 48 commercial and 38 residential customers. Gosling Czubak projected the average water demand for that customer base would be 65,000 gallons per day. If every property was developed in the zone – a scenario trustees said was important to keep in mind when calculating risks and benefits, since the goal is to drive more commercial growth – that demand could more than double to 134,400 gallons per day.

Estimated construction costs to build a self-contained township water system are just over $8 million, dropping down to $6 million to connect to East Bay Township’s system and $4.3 million to connect to the Tribe’s system. Though the most expensive, the benefits of Acme completely owning its system would be having independent control over its own water supply and eventually generating revenue for the township long-term. Connecting to East Bay’s system would present routing challenges, including having to run 6,600 feet of water main to connect to water from Acme’s economic development zone. Connecting to either the East Bay or Tribe system would have a lower cost and lower exposure – consultants emphasized the liability involved in being directly responsible for providing clean water to customers – but would also put the township at the mercy of another owner for water rates in perpetuity.

Constructing either a self-contained township system or water distribution lines hooked up to another system would be financed through a 40-year, low-interest loan through the USDA Rural Development program. The success of installing a system would be heavily reliant on signing up as many customers as possible. Trustees discussed the possibility of using a development-driven approach, building out the system over time as properties are redeveloped and owners seek to hook up to the system. Trustees didn’t commit Tuesday to any particular path – still leaving the door open to any of the three options, as well as to determining it’s impractical to move forward – and will discuss the study again on September 7, with Gosling Czubak working to complete a final report for submittal to the township.

In the City of Traverse City, officials are also exploring options for upgrading both the city’s water and wastewater systems. City commissioners last week approved a $14,900 contract with engineering firm Hubbell, Roth & Clark to provide design drawings and cost estimates for a project to reline 8,000 lineal feet of city sewers along the Bay Street corridor from Oak Street to Monroe Street, as well as portions of tributary sewers from the south including Maple, Division/Cypress, Cedar, Spruce, and Elmwood streets. Other areas targeted for improvement include the alley east of Union Street from Twelfth Street to Lake Street and the alley south of Front Street from Union Street to Park Street.

The targeted areas contain a high percentage of old clay sewers, which are being impacted by high lake levels. Now below groundwater level, the pipes are vulnerable to inflow – which occurs when water gets into the system through manhole covers or illicit connections from roof drains or basement sump pumps to the system – and infiltration, which occurs through cracks or loose joints in pipes when surface water seeps into the ground and forces its way into the pipes. Both problems can cause sewer overflows. Hubbell, Roth & Clark will provide plans for fixing the 8,000 feet of sewer through a process called cured-in-place pipe (CIPP), a “trenchless” technology – meaning the old pipe doesn’t have to be dug up and replaced. Instead, a felt lining is inserted into the pipe and exposed to hot water or steam that causes it to attach to the inner walls of the pipe – forming a new jointless, seamless inner pipe. This sealed “pipe within a pipe” keeps external water and tree and plant roots from infiltrating the system. Hubbell, Roth & Clark is expected to deliver the drawings and cost estimates by the end of September, a necessary step before the city can put the project out to bid.

Earlier this summer, city commissioners voted to approve a final plan for water infrastructure improvements that was submitted to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for consideration of low-interest loan funding for up to $14.75 million in repairs to the city’s water treatment plant and distribution system. The city is applying for funding over a 20-year period at a two percent interest rate, with an estimated monthly cost to residential customers of $5.58 ($1.13 in the first year).

The city is separately applying for over $27 million in loan funding for wastewater repair projects. Both loan plans list all the potential projects the city could tackle; however, the city is not obligated to tackle them all exactly as described or in a particular order. Implementation will depend on the amount of funding approved by the state and future commission approval of individual project contracts. The city is expected to learn in October what funding it qualifies for, if any.