Allegan approves emergency directional drill repair and sewer lining design amid EGLE grant timeline

City staff told council on June 9 that an emergency repair to a city-owned directional drill was necessary to avoid multi-week delays in replacing water service lines under a $3,000,000 EGLE grant. The city manager said the drill outage would have cost two to four water-service installations per day and jeopardized the city’s ability to spend remaining grant funds before an Aug. 31 deadline; staff authorized an emergency purchase with an estimate of $12,312.74.

Separately, council approved PO 26-0816 for $15,000 to Aben Marsh for design and construction engineering to reline portions of the sewer that were found to have settled or cracked during recent televising. Staff described a 10-foot patch from circa 2010 that had settled, and said lining is a cost-effective approach for many sections compared with full replacement.

Why it matters: Staff said the water-service replacement program is time-sensitive because the EGLE grant is 'use it or lose it' and that each day of downtime reduces the number of services the city can replace. For sewer, televising found offsets and joint separation in parts of the downtown sewer run; lining (a cured-in-place fiberglass liner process) was described as a durable, economical fix.

Council discussion and outcome: Council accepted the emergency purchase rationale and heard details on the lining technique (camera inspection, insertion of a resin-impregnated liner, curing, and re-opening laterals). The PO to Aben Marsh passed by voice vote and staff will proceed with design and construction engineering.