DEQ Requires Upgrades to Brevort Twp. Sewer
By Paul Gingras

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has demanded that Brevort Township increase its ability to monitor the sewer system to avoid accidental contamination and to maintain efficient treatment.

The Township board discussed the matter at its Tuesday, September 2 meeting.

The biggest requirement is for a flow meter, which could cost about $30,000. The meter is needed to monitor the flow of sewage between the last residence on the sewer line and the sewer lagoons. The waste is treated at the lagoons and eventually released into Brevort River, which flows into Lake Michigan.

The meter should have been installed when the system was constructed, according to the DEQ. It was omitted as a cost-cutting measure by U.P. Engineers, Mr. Serwach said. The company relied on another method to monitor sewage flow, which no longer works, owing to changes in the system in recent years, he added.

The township has a contingency fund to pay for a flow meter.

Local contractor Rob Frazier, whose firm, Maverick Construction, has worked on the sewer system, was invited to the meeting to explain what would be needed to meet state requirements.

The flow meter is "part of an insurance policy to monitor the flow of how much you get per day, so you can anticipate what the annual runoff is going to be due to spring snowfall, rainfall, and that sort of thing, and not have a catastrophe," he said. "That is why the DEQ is wanting to know how much flow you are sticking into the pond that is raw sewage."

"Things could get ugly if you don't have a grip on what's happening there," he added.

Mr. Frazier agreed that the meter should have been part of the system's original design.

In addition to the flow meter itself, he said, the township needs a concrete structure to house it, and a bypass system around it.

"In the event that the flow meter screws up, you have to be able to get in there and repair it, or remove it, and put another one in. It will screw up [eventually]," he added, "that's a given."

How long the flow meter will last cannot be determined, he said.

"It might [last] 10 years, and you might be able to repair it for $500, or it might be another $10,000 meter by then. . . . but it will screw up, and you need to be able to get in there and fix it."

The reason the flow meter will eventually fail is owing to exposure to the corrosive material it monitors, he added.

Pressure Gauges

The township must also install gauges along the sewer system to monitor pressure in the line. The department seeks to ensure that grinder pumps at residences along the line do not become overburdened and fail.

In the absence of the system's lift station, which was taken off- line last year, the individual grinders must provide enough pressure to keep the sewage flowing.

The lift station was taken offline to eliminate sewer gas odors that leaked into in a residential area near Brevort Lake. Now, the lift station is used to provide a periodic flush of water down the line to help keep it clear, and the sewer gas is piped to the sewer lagoon area, distant from residences.

Air-relief Valves

To keep the sewer running, air relief valves have to be monitored, cleaned, and possibly replaced throughout the year, Mr. Frazier added.

This is a process in which workers enter confined spaces. Three workers are required to do so, by law, owing to the potential dangers of the task.

All of these sewer-system matters had to be addressed, eventually, Mr. Frazier explained.

"There needs to be maintenance on the system," he said. "You can't expect it to run like a septic system does, and even those need maintenance.... It's just the nature of the beast."

"It isn't that bad a system. It really isn't," he added. "There are just little things that the engineer tried to do [to save money] as they were progressing, and they kind of backfired."

"We're trying to run this thing without a [sewer] department," and most systems of this kind have departments to keep them going, he noted.