Salinas finance committee hears sewer improvement plan; Lake Street lift station estimated at $20—25 million

Salinas Finance Committee members on Nov. 4 received an update on the city's sanitary sewer capital program, including plans to seek a design'build team for a new Lake Street pump station and a preliminary construction cost estimate of $20 million to $25 million.

Adriana Robles, assistant public works director and city engineer, said the city's sanitary sewer system serves more than 12,000 acres, includes more than 280 gravity mains and 11 lift stations, and that the 2023 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan update informed the list of capital projects now being sequenced into the capital improvement program. "We're anticipating issuing that solicitation, by the end of the month," Robles said of the Lake Street design'build procurement.

The nut of the plan is to pair projects and timing with the sewer rate study and recent fee changes. Robles and other staff described a procurement schedule that…