The Clark Township board and the township's Sewer Advisory Committee (SAC) used a joint meeting Thursday, August 26, to hash out concerns over sewer system projects that have become backed up, including work to a lift station on the corner of Beach and Hodeck streets, a pipe with hairline cracks between pond two and pond three at the wastewater treatment plant, and lingering concerns over the potential for sewer system freezes and backups, an issue that came up in a lawsuit against the township in 2004. A temporary worker will be hired to help get some of the work done.

The Grove Street lift station requires one of two pumps to be repaired. The pump that needs work hasn't been pumping properly for more than a month, a malfunction Township Supervisor Gerald Hill said could be owing to a blockage in the check valve.

The pipe with hairline cracks has been an issue that hasn't been addressed for three years. The cracks have allowed sand to enter from above the line and be deposited into the first settling pond (pond three) in a series of three. To avoid having higher volumes of sand enter this area, the system has been operated at less than full strength, a restriction that could be corrected with the insertion of a sleeve to cover the cracks in the line.

While the board approved making both of these repairs at previous meetings, the work isn't being done, said frustrated members of both groups. Mr. Hill, who heads the township's Department of Public Works, said this is because his department is understaffed. He contends the two employees under his supervision, wastewater treatment manager Jim Landreville and assistant Tony Hamel, are being overworked.

“There's so much work within the township that must be done just to keep the system running,” he said. “It's difficult for them to find time to work on infrastructure.”

The idea of hiring a temporary worker to assist the DPW workers was approved 3-2 at the meeting, with trustees Gary Wellnitz, Mike Lofdahl, and Mr. Hill in support and Treasurer Katie Carpenter and Clerk Mike Miller opposed. The township is posting an advertisement in this week's issue of The St. Ignace News for a worker with plumbing experience.

Board members and committee members agreed that DPW employees have been called off duties unrelated to their skills, such as mowing grass, and that their time must be prioritized to align with the township's most pressing needs.

Mrs. Carpenter expressed additional concern that Department of Public Works employees may be doing work that homeowners are actually responsible for, which would either be billable or something that should be referred to a plumber. This could be determined through access to the logs Mr. Landreville and Mr. Hamel file daily, but, these reports, though filled out, haven't been finding their way to the township clerk's office after being presented to Mr. Hill.

The uncertain condition of nearly 720 grinder pumps, 50% of which consulting firm C2AE recommended replacing in the near future, was also a concern. Even armed with this estimate, township and committee officials said digging up the pumps for a visual assessment will give them a better sense of direction.

“We don't even know how many need to be repaired,” said committee member Norm Perkins. “We need to know what we have out there.”

Since there is no information on file, and checking the pumps involves excavation six to eight feet deep, the township will make educated guesses based on what they learned from a lawsuit lost in 2004 and from the working knowledge gained by those responsible for the system, including Mr. Hill, who had operated the system for many years before becoming township supervisor.

John Shoberg, who chairs the Sewer Advisory Committee, recommended having the staff identify the highest risk locations first, rebuilding those pumps and bringing them up to standards. Seasonal residents and those closest to the water, who are lower to the main trunkline, are most at risk. Residents who leave for the winter leave the system unused for several months, while systems in use are somewhat protected because they have hot water flowing into the grinder pumps and will notice aberrations in their system's performance. Additionally, the homes lower to the main trunkline are more likely to have gravity take over and run the sewage back into their homes if there are failures in the system.

Adding backwater valves into every township-owned grinder pump is also being explored.

While state regulations require backwater valves -- which function like a flap that allows water to flow one way, but closes if water flows from the opposite direction -- to be placed in grinder pumps, this mandate has not yet been undertaken. Without these valves in place, any failure of the system leaves the township vulnerable to another lawsuit.

The price to put backwater valves into all grinder pumps is being explored, with specifications being drawn up for excavation and labor costs before the project can go out for bidding.

The figure won't be exact, said Mr. Hill, because every grinder pump is different.

“The systems are such that you can't just walk out and say 'the line is here,'” he said.

At the Sewer Advisory Committee meeting, held just before the joint meeting, a letter reported that Hessel Ridge Golf has agreed to study, alongside the township, the feasibility and desirability of the township spraying treated water from sewage lagoons onto its property.

Similar endeavors have been common in other states, said Mr. Shoberg, such as a 36-hole golf course at the United States Air Force Academy that waters its grounds using treated wastewater.

This arrangement, while it couldn't take place without Department of Natural Resources and Environment approval and sufficient exploration by both parties, would be a win-win situation, said Mr. Shoberg.

“The golf course currently takes approximately 55 million gallons out of the aquifer each year,” he said of the local course, pointing out this water could instead be provided to the course through application of treated wastewater. “This arrangement would be a chance for the township to contribute toward maintaining the aquifer, rather than depleting it. Each day, enough water would be saved to match twice the daily amount of water used by a community this size.”