LAURINBURG — Work to improve an aging sewer system is under way in the College Park area.

According to Robert Ellis, treatment plant director for the city of Laurinburg, a pumping station off of U.S. 401 near Pizza Hut was constructed in 1976 and upgraded in 1994, but it has simply outlived its usefulness.

“It went through its life expectancy and we felt like it was time to upgrade,” Ellis said. “We’ve had some failures in that old pump station. The motor’s going bad and we had some overflow circumstances where we just couldn’t handle it and we had to get some bypass pumps in to keep up with the flow. What we’re trying to do is stay on top of it and try to minimize or eliminate any potential overflow at the pump station.”

The Laurinburg City Council approved reconstruction of the pumping station last year, but a delay in receiving some of the equipment forced the contractor to delay the work.

Ellis said the low bid of $177,000 was awarded to Charles R. Underwood Inc.

Sewage has to travel through miles of piping to get to a wastewater treatment plant, Ellis explained, which works through gravity. When the pipes reach a low point, sewage has to be lifted up through a pumping station.

“You don’t have enough grade to take that gravity line all the way to our treatment plant,” Ellis said. “What we do in that service area that covers — that’s at its lowest point. Then we take it up to a hill to a gravity line which sends it down to another pump station until it’s all the way to the wastewater treatment plant.”

Carolina Concrete Landscape & Design was subcontracted to put in the concrete, which includes a 12 feet by 30 feet deep tank.

Carolina Concrete Landscape & Design workers are putting in a new sewer pumping station off of U.S. 401 near Pizza Hut in Laurinburg. The work includes new electrical components and a 12 feet by 30 feet deep tank. From there the sewage is sent to a wastewater treatment plant. The company is a subcontractor for Charles R. Underwood Inc., which was awarded the bid by the city of Laurinburg.
https://www.laurinburgexchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_Sewer-1.jpg.jpgCarolina Concrete Landscape & Design workers are putting in a new sewer pumping station off of U.S. 401 near Pizza Hut in Laurinburg. The work includes new electrical components and a 12 feet by 30 feet deep tank. From there the sewage is sent to a wastewater treatment plant. The company is a subcontractor for Charles R. Underwood Inc., which was awarded the bid by the city of Laurinburg.

By Terri Ferguson Smith

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Reach Terri Ferguson Smith at 910-506-3169.