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Bedford advisory committee authorizes RFP for phased siphon‑station upgrade
Summary
The Bedford Water and Sewer Advisory Committee voted to seek design proposals for a phased upgrade of the town’s siphon station, including safety, ventilation and automated valves, with a preliminary cost estimate of $850,000–$1,000,000 to be paid from the Sewer Investment Fund.
The Bedford Water and Sewer Advisory Committee on Nov. 13 approved staff to pursue a consultant and issue an RFP for a two‑phase upgrade of the town’s siphon station, citing safety risks, aging infrastructure and operational limits.
Committee members and staff described multiple safety hazards at the nearly 40‑ to 50‑year‑old facility: steep stairs with no fall protection, difficult ladder access to lighting and inadequate ventilation. Staff said automating siphon valves would reduce the need to send personnel down the confined stairs for repeated manual operations and would improve operational flexibility.
"We're thinking somewhere between 850,000 to 1000000," Eric (the Chair) said when presenting the rough cost estimate for engineering and construction. The committee was told the work would likely be paid from the Sewer Investment Fund (an enterprise fund) rather than the town tax base.
Longtime member Michael Sills highlighted both historical design choices and ongoing sampling concerns and pressed for attention to sampling and ventilation. "The ventilation system would be as important as everything else," Sills said, linking worker safety to odor and gas concerns at the station.
Staff said recent testing showed improvements after routing flows to the 14‑inch line during peak periods, but that certain short‑duration slugs of BOD and TSS still occur when the 10‑inch siphon overflows into larger lines. The proposed project would include fall protection, new stairs, lighting, a ventilation upgrade, a retrofit to allow an installed flow meter connected to the monitoring system, and valve automation to enable switchover by flow condition.
Danielle Levansick moved to authorize staff to develop a phased proposal (gates/automation first, then station upgrades) and to pursue a consultant and RFP; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call. Staff said they will return to the committee with bids and a design for review.
Next steps: staff will finalize an RFP, solicit consultant proposals, and report back with costed designs and a proposed schedule to the advisory committee.
