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Consultants present wastewater master plan; engineers flag 49 lift stations and capacity questions
Summary
Craig A. Smith & Associates presented a rebuilt sewer master plan that maps aging gravity sewers and numerous lift stations, notes high infiltration/inflow and identifies projects to consolidate lift stations and expand capacity ahead of expected growth.
Consultants from Craig A. Smith & Associates presented the Town of Pembroke Park with a newly rebuilt wastewater master plan and an accompanying system atlas at a recent town meeting.
Daniel, presenting for Craig A. Smith & Associates, said historical development in piecemeal mobile-home and trailer parks left the town with an extensive network of shallow gravity sewers and many lift stations. "We found 49 lift stations," Daniel said, describing the inclusion of privately owned lift stations in the updated model and noting the operational and maintenance burden that number creates.
The consultant said much of the system uses old clay pipes and is subject to significant infiltration and inflow (I&I), which increases the volume the town must send to county or interlocal treatment facilities. The report includes modeled future-growth scenarios (examples cited: 25 units per acre and 50 units per acre in empty-lot areas) and shows how buildout would affect system hydraulics and capacity.
Daniel told commissioners that the town’s current external agreements and outfalls are important constraints on future growth; some outfalls rely on separate treatment agreements with the county or the City of Hollywood, and the consultant placed placeholders in the plan where copies of those agreements were not available. The consultant urged the town to locate and confirm those agreements before approving major growth requests.
Recommended projects include: deeper wet wells and gravity extensions to eliminate clusters of small lift stations, upsizing force mains in several bottleneck locations (for example, a stretch where force mains reduce from 12 inches to 10 inches), replacement of aging asbestos-cement mains (notably on Southwest 30th Street), and a potential septic-to-sewer conversion project for a specific neighborhood identified in the atlas. Daniel said the firm prepared a letter to the receiving treatment utility (Hollywood) to support capacity requests from the town.
Staff and consultants said the master plan will serve as the town’s planning-level reference ("atlas") for permitting, growth reviews and capital projects. The commission asked for a detailed follow-up meeting to go through the plan’s project list and priorities. No formal approvals or construction authorizations were recorded at the meeting.
