Oakland-Macomb Interceptor summer 2015

Officials break ground in Shelby Township
on final phase of Oakland-Macomb Interceptor
Thursday, June 4, 2015
By SEAN DELANEY – Source Staff Writer
Advisor & Source NewsPapers

Officials from Macomb and Oakland counties gathered June 2 at River Bends Park in Shelby Township to break ground on Contracts 5 and 6 of the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor Drain (OMID) project.

“These contracts represent the final contracts of the $160 million rehabilitation program which is designed to restore the structural integrity of the (OMID) sewer system, which serves approximately 833,000 residents and rate payers in Macomb and Oakland counties,” said Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco.

According to the Oakland County Water Resources Office, the OMID is approximately 20 miles in overall length, and generally flows from north to south, terminating at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s Northeast Sewage Pumping Station just south of 8 Mile Road. The diameter of the sewer ranges from 42 inches at one of the upstream extremities, to 12.75 feet in the southern half of the system.

Following the catastrophic collapse in 2004 of a nearby section of interceptor sewer that flows into the OMID, sewer service was seriously threatened for all the upstream users of the system. The repair in 2004 involved a 10-month, 24/7 construction and emergency bypass effort that ultimately cost rate payers over $56 million.

Following the repair, the remainder of the system was inspected, and found to be in very poor condition in many areas. In 2009, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department transferred the system to the newly created OMID Drainage District (OMIDDD), and the OMIDDD then undertook a $170 million, seven-year repair program, ultimately to be conducted under six separate contracts.

“Detroit didn’t take care of it, so we had to take over and make sure it could serve our customers,” Marrocco said.

Contracts 1 and 2 (Segment 1) of the program involved construction and installation of flow control and access structures at six points along the sewer system located in Sterling Heights and Warren.

According to Oakland County officials, the innovative design of the remote-operated flow control system allowed for storage of sewage flow within the system during daily repairs planned for subsequent segments of the program. This design approach saved millions over conventional bypass or manual flow control options.

The flow control and access structures involved installation of shafts up to 100 feet deep and 75 feet in diameter. The total cost of Contracts 1 and 2 was approximately $46.1 million, including engineering, administration, and legal. Work under Contracts 1 and 2 is now complete, and officials say the system is performing as planned.

Contract 3 (Segment 2) of the program involved leak sealing and spot repairs in the lower 10 miles of the system, located in Warren and Sterling Heights.

The contract also included installation of a new variable speed drive pump and related equipment at the Northeast Sewage Pumping Station (NESPS), in order to accomplish dewatering to facilitate the work at the southern end of the OMID tunnel.

According to officials, the Contract 3 work was designed to prepare the deteriorated pipe in advance of the slip-lining that is to be accomplished under Contract 4. The total cost of the work was initially about $26.5 million, including engineering, administration, and legal.

“The original scope of Contract 3 is now complete, although as a result of the discovery of deteriorated conditions within the NESPS, an emergency repair of the NESPS Discharge Chamber has been added to the contract,” officials said in a program summary released last month. “This work is just beginning, and is expected to be complete by about August 2016, at a cost of about $4.5 million (construction).”

Contract 4 (Segment 3) of the program involves lining about 26,500 lineal feet of tunnel with glass fiber polymer mortar pipe, within four sections of the OMID system between Metropolitan Parkway and the Northeast Sewage Pump Station (just south of 8 Mile Road).

The total cost of Contract 4 will be about $75.5 million, including engineering, administration, and legal.

“An innovative procurement approach on this contract is estimated to have saved about $18 million from the originally budgeted cost for this work,” the summary states.

Contract 4 was begun in August of 2013, with most of the work up to this date involving preparations for the bulk of the in-tunnel lining work. It is currently scheduled to be complete in November 2015.

“I’ve only been involved with this project since I came into office in 2013, but it’s been an amazing project,” said Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash. “We’re here to build something that’s going to last 100 years, and we want to make sure that it does that. I’m looking forward to finishing this project, and getting on the road to having it operate as it should have been for many years.”

Contract 5 (Segment 4) of the OMID repair program involves intermittent lining and internal spot repairs to the northern half of the OMID sewer system, which extends through the communities of Sterling Heights, Utica, and Shelby Township.

The work includes constructing two access shafts into the interceptor, sealing water leaks, grouting voids outside the interceptor, repairing cracks in the interceptor, and re-lining selected portions of the interceptor; together with construction of about three miles of gravel roadway through River Bends and Holland Ponds parks, to provide access for the construction.

“This project in particular not only protects the environment in terms of waste water, but it also involved the construction of roads through environmentally sensitive areas,” said Keith Swaffar, chairman of NTH Consultants. “So it’s really a testament to the commissioners in terms of their awareness and desire to protect the environment.”

The total cost of Contract 5 is about $13.7 million, including engineering, administration, and legal. The work is scheduled to be complete in June of 2016.

Contract 6 (Segment 4) of the OMID repair program involves intermittent lining and internal spot repairs to the OMID PCI-11A Interceptor from Dequindre Road to Utica Road, generally along M-59 in Shelby Township and the city of Utica. The work includes sealing water infiltration into the Interceptor with chemical grouting, repairing manholes, and re-lining portions of the interceptor.

The total cost of Contract 6 is estimated to be about $3.7 million, including engineering, administration, and legal. The work is scheduled to be complete in June of 2016.

“This project (OMID) ranks as the largest wholesale customer of the DWSD, and with the completion of these two contracts our system will be on sound engineering footing, and be able to provide reliable and efficient service to our customers for many years to come,” Marrocco said. “Overall, OMID has been quite an accomplishment, and for that we owe a debt of gratitude to all who have played a role in making the rehabilitation program a success story. Even though we’ve had out differences along the way, we’ve managed to move forward and complete the project the way it should be done.”