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Wastewater supervisor urges $331,000 McCarti lift station upgrade to prevent overflows
Summary
Princeton wastewater staff told council that aging three-story pumps at the McCarti lift station create safety and maintenance burdens and that a $331,000 project to convert to submersible pumps and remove the dry well would reduce recurring costs and overflow risk; staff asked for council awareness, not immediate approval.
Justin, who oversees the city wastewater treatment plant, told the Princeton City Council during the budget hearing that aging infrastructure at the McCarti lift station poses both operational risk and growing maintenance costs and recommended an expedited capital project. He described a $331,000 scope that would remove the current dry well, install submersible pumps on rails and add a valve vault, reducing three-story maintenance entries and expected long-term costs.
“McCarti lift station was put in in the 1970s,” Justin said, and explained that the station currently requires workers to climb three stories to service pumps. He told the council the proposed upgrade would put pumps on rails and make them submersible, and estimated the work would give the station roughly 20 years before similar major work would be needed. Justin also said each pump currently in the station costs about $40,000 and that the station’s two pumps are difficult to maintain.
Justin outlined related plant priorities: a roughly $50,000 lean‑to style pipe storage building to protect materials, replacement of two aging pickup trucks (one heavily rusted, one used for lab/sample work), and asphalt/milling needs for plant roadways left unaddressed in prior construction. He described a recent clarifier improvement and inspection results and framed the $331,000 request as addressing the most immediate high‑risk item short of a full rebuild.
Council members pressed on redundancy and regulatory risk. When asked whether McCarti had a backup pump, Justin said it did not; he cautioned that during a heavy rain event the station could overflow manholes in low areas and that the city would have to file an IDEM overflow report if that occurred. “We can run on one pump as long as we don't have any rain event,” he said. Justin emphasized that overflows would create both regulatory and public‑health obligations.
Justin contrasted the $331,000 option with a larger full rebuild: “If we would look at doing McCarti redoing McCarti lift station we would be closer to about a $1 million project,” he said, noting the larger scope would include more extensive site and control work. He said the $331,000 package would avoid replacing controls that were upgraded in a previous project and therefore save engineering fees.
The council did not vote on a funding measure. Finance staff and council members said they wanted more time to consider financing options, including use of bond proceeds or other dedicated funds, and to confirm procurement and vendor availability. Justin asked council for early notice before any formal request so council members were not surprised by a capital ask at a subsequent meeting.
What happens next: staff will follow up with procurement details, vendor options and financing scenarios; no appropriation or formal vote was taken at the hearing.
