An overview of the project site shows the island served by the Harbin Drive sanitary sewer and its numerous site constraints.
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Grinder pumps were installed on 16 residential properties.
Force main was carefully installed to avoid impacting a corduroy road from the Revolutionary War.
CIPP lining enabled access to pipe that had been buried under layers of South Haven’s infrastructure and deep ravines.
Open-cut construction was used in areas where existing structural problems in the pipe had to be eliminated and locations where access was achievable for the contractor.
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Two community sanitary sewer projects received local recognition from the American
Public Works Association (APWA). The Charter Township of Brownstown’s Harbin
Drive Sanitary Sewer was awarded Project of the Year, Environment (less than $2 million),
by the Michigan Chapter of APWA and the Downriver Branch. The City of South Haven’s
Ravine Sewer Rehabilitation also received a Project of the Year Award in the Environment
category (less than $2 million) from APWA’s Midwest Michigan Branch.
Harbin Drive Sanitary Sewer
Brownstown needed to provide sanitary sewer service to 16 Harbin Drive residences along
a narrow island at the confluence of Smith and Silver Creeks and the Huron River, where
they empty into Lake Erie. Built in the late 1950s, these seasonal homes had since become
year-round residences whose failing septic systems were polluting the surrounding water.
After several options were evaluated, a grinder pump and force main system was selected based
on site constraints and user needs. This proved to be a cost-effective and acceptable sewer
solution where the Township pays for installation and maintenance and residents pay for
electricity to operate the pumps.
Design and construction challenges were numerous. Only a single iron monument could be found
on the island and during design, a Revolutionary War road surfaced near the project at the mouth
of the Huron River due to low water levels. Sewer construction was complicated by a limited
work area and wet soil conditions. A directional-drilling approach was used to minimize disruption
to the soils and preserve the historic road.
Wade Trim provided design and construction and contract administration, construction survey,
construction observation and field engineering services for this project. Wade Trim also
acted as the Township’s representative during construction to address residents’
questions and concerns.
South Haven Ravine Sewer Rehabilitation
Significant inflow and infiltration into South Haven’s East and West Ravine sanitary
sewer lines was straining the City’s wastewater treatment system. To improve the
aging infrastructure and delay the need for a treatment plant expansion, this Lake Michigan
community undertook a $1.9 million sewer rehabilitation project. The improvements will
eliminate 60% of the inflow and infiltration in the collection system to meet Water and
Sewer Agreement requirements with South Haven and Casco Townships and comply with Michigan
Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ) mandates.
After evaluating existing studies, reports and video inspections, Wade Trim helped the City
determine the most efficient course of action for repairing their 10- to 21-inch diameter sewer
collection system in the East and West Ravines. A flexible construction approach was developed
that featured both shallow and deep open-cut sewer rehabilitation, spin-cast manhole
rehabilitation and an aggressive use of trenchless technologies to overcome sewer access
challenges and minimize construction impacts. This was a significant alteration from the
City’s initial plans for mainly open-cut construction. Wade Trim’s cost-effective
design expanded the use of traditionally more expensive cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining
without modifying the City’s original budget or schedule.
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