HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2002-09-09 #J AGENDA REPORT
DATE: September 9, 2002
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THRU: John B. Bahorski, City Manager
FROM: Douglas A. Danes, P.E., Director of Public Works / City Engineer
SUBJECT: WEST END PUMP STATION IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT, No. 50050 - STATUS REPORT
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SUMMARY
The proposed City Council action will receive and file the presented information and
provide concurrence for the proposed strategy and phasing for the proposed West End
Pump Station Improvement Project, No. 50050.
BACKGROUND:
The West End Pump Station was originally constructed in 1959 as a means to pump
storm water run -off from a 150 -acre watershed covering portions of Marina Hill North,
Bridgeport and Old Town into the San Gabriel River. The station has two natural gas
engines driven propeller pumps each rated at 25,000 gallons per minute. The streets in
the adjacent Mobile Home Park drain directly into the wet well of the Pump Station.
Consequently, the Park is flooded whenever the water level in the wet well exceeds the
street elevation.
A fire at the Station during a storm in 2000 completely damaged one of the two natural
gas engines leaving the station only at half capacity. The burned engine was replaced by
an engine obtained from the County of Orange and reconditioned at the City's expense in
October 2001. Other minor improvements were also made to the station at that time.
The West End Pump Station does not have capacity adequate for the current standards
and it lacks proper controls. In early 2001, the City retained AKM Consulting Engineers
to prepare a Preliminary Design Report (PDR) for construction of a new Pump Station to
replace the existing. The PDR evaluated the hydrology of the drainage site among other
things and found that the existing pumps are not of sufficient capacity to handle the
standard 25 -year storm -flow criteria. Actually, according to the PDR, the existing pumps
can handle only 71 percent of 5 -year storm flow. Therefore, the PDR recommended
replacement of the existing station with a brand new station.
The PDR evaluated a number of alternatives for the replacement station. Unfortunately,
all of the evaluated alternatives far exceeded the City's budget since they were in the
range of $4 to $5 million. One of the other major conflicts in demolishing the existing
Agenda Item
and constructing the new station in its location is the length of time required for the
construction. The poor foundation conditions and complexity of the new station, make it
difficult to complete the construction during the April to October time frame. (Due to the
essential nature of the pump station for flood control protection, it must remain
operational during the rainy season, which is defined as the October to April period).
The recommendation from the PDR is to recondition the existing pump station and to
construct an additional parallel pump station in the Oakwood Apartments property
adjacent to the West End Pump Station. Considering the constraints described above,
this alternative is sensible to increase the pumping capacity. The PDR also recommends
the construction of a low flow dry weather urban run -off system which pumps low flow
waters into the sanitary sewer system. This will improve local water quality and is
consistent with the City's Storm Water Master Plan.
In addition, the preliminary evaluations of the environmental process including a Coastal
Commission Permit and the easement needed at the Oakwood Apartments, may take up
to 2 years. This extensive environmental review and documentation is based on the
review of documents from other agencies constructing pump stations. Agencies issuing
permits on the project include the California Coastal Commission, Army Corp. of
Engineers, and LA County Dept. of Public Works. Several local agencies and
organizations are also expected to comment on the environmental report. Staff has met
with both the Coastal Commission and Oakwood Apartment representatives.
Given the circumstances and the budgetary constraints, staff is proposing the following
courses of action for immediate implementation during FY 2002/2003:
• Construct a new low flow diversion system to pump out dry weather and nuisance
flows to the sewer line in First Street.
• Recondition and renovate the other natural gas engine obtained from the County
and install it at the station, replacing the old engine and associated controls.
• Remove, inspect, and replace if necessary the two existing station pumps.
• Proceed with the environmental review process of constructing a new parallel
pump station.
Upon receipt of the environmental permits, the following designs are recommended to be
implemented:
• Construct an additional wet well in the adjacent Oakwood Apartments parking lot.
• Construct two additional electrical motor driven pumps and associated controls on
top of the new wet well to bring the total pumping capacity to handle the 25 -year
storm flows.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funds in the amount of $2,300,000 were budgeted in the City's Capital Improvement
Program from the City's Redevelopment Agency. To date the City has expended
$150,000 for the engine repairs and station improvements including engineering and the
Preliminary Design Report. A low flow division system, and reconditioning of the
existing engine and existing pumps is anticipated to cost up to $200,000. The remaining
balance will fund the environmental review process, design, construction and inspection
of the new pump station.
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file the presented information and provide concurrence for the proposed
strategy and phasing for the proposed West End Pump Station Improvement Project, No.
50050.
Prepared By:
Mark . Vukojevic, .ErP Deputy City Engineer
Reviewed By:
litiValy
Doug Danes, P.E., Director, Public Works Department
NO - : ► ' PROV
Jo . Bahorski, City Manager
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