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Albion outlines multi-year sewer lining and replacement plan, aims for state SRF funding
Summary
City staff presented a draft project plan seeking Clean Water State Revolving Fund support to televise remaining sewers, line damaged pipes, and replace failing segments; the application is due May 1 and, if funded, work could begin in late 2027 with construction through 2029.
Albion city engineers told the City Council on March 25 that a multi-part wastewater project would televise, line and replace large portions of the city’s aging sanitary sewer system and that the application for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) is due May 1.
Mickey, an engineering consultant working with city staff, summarized televised-inspection results and explained the proposed technical approach, citing cured-in-place-pipe lining (CIPP) for eligible segments and conventional open-cut replacement for segments that are obstructed or structurally collapsed. “This project plan is due May 1 and Eagle calls it a project plan is essentially the application,” the presenter said, describing the SRF application schedule and review process.
City staff identified the current scope as roughly 39,000 feet of cured-in-place pipe lining, about 1,200 vertical feet of manhole lining, approximately 6,100 feet of sanitary sewer replacement that will require open cutting, and about 144,000 feet of additional sewer televising to complete the inventory. The presenter said older televising data left roughly half the system un-inspected and warned that undocumented defects often worsen over time.
Engineers displayed defect ratings (1–5) and noted Eagle SRF eligibility typically favors the most severe categories (levels 4 and 5). The presenter told council members the city can sometimes make a technical case to include some level 2–3 segments if installation era and observed failures indicate similar risk.
On timing and financing, staff said the plan would be advertised for public review by the end of the month, with an April 20 public hearing on the plan and a May 1 SRF submission. If the city is offered funding, design would follow and contracts likely be bid in spring 2027; lining work could begin in late 2027 with major construction extending into 2028–29. The consultant noted prior SRF rounds offered variable principal forgiveness (13–18% in a prior water round) but said that particular ARPA-era allocation is exhausted and current SRF offers are expected to be less generous.
Council members questioned how lining interacts with recent road reconstruction and how the city can avoid repaving newly rebuilt streets. The presenter said the lining work is manhole to manhole and is noninvasive compared with open-cut replacement; where open cutting is necessary, staff will coordinate water-main, sanitary and roadway work to limit repeated pavement disruption.
Staff emphasized the likely need to fund at least part of the program from Albion’s wastewater fund and noted possible use of Act 51 transportation funds where roadway reconstruction is required. They cautioned that final project costs remain under development pending additional condition surveys and material-age analysis.
The council did not take a formal vote on funding at the meeting; staff said they will return on April 20 with the draft project plan, a public hearing and a resolution for council consideration.
