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Commission authorizes rehabilitation of Lift Station No. 2 to reduce spill risk into Sarasota Bay
Summary
The commission unanimously approved a contract with Sequoia Construction Group to rehabilitate Lift Station No. 2, including raising the station, adding generator connections and SCADA upgrades to reduce overflow risk into Sarasota Bay and improve remote monitoring.
The Sarasota City Commission authorized improvements to Lift Station No. 2 on Feb. 17, approving a contract to rehabilitate the aging pump station and add technology and redundancy intended to reduce spill risk into Sarasota Bay.
Utilities staff described the work as a combination of structural, mechanical and control upgrades. "We're going from a wet‑well, dry‑well to a wet‑well function," General Manager Scott Woodard said, explaining the changes that will allow safer maintenance and improved system performance. Utilities Director Bern Hall added that staff will install generator hookups to enable portable generator use if onsite power is lost.
The presentation included a demonstration of the city's SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system to show remote monitoring of wet‑well levels, pump run times and system pressure. Hall told commissioners the upgrades help prevent infiltration, structural failure and the potential for overflows into the bay.
Vice Mayor Ulrich moved to authorize the agreement with Sequoia Construction Group. The motion passed unanimously. Staff said the project will be executed as part of the city's multi‑year CIP that schedules several lift‑station rehabs annually and that more complex reconfigurations (stations 2, 10 and 16) were identified for separate efforts.
The vote authorizes mayoral and auditor signatory approvals and directs staff to proceed with implementation under the city's procurement and construction oversight procedures.
