By Jim Bloch
Port Huron’s south water tower is 20 years older than the city’s water filtration plant which began treating water from the St. Clair River in 1966.
The tower now needs new control valves.
The city council voted unanimously at its regular meeting June 22 to award the contract for the work to Raymond Excavating Company, of Marysville, with the low bid of $457,855.
The project is more complicated than it appears at first glance.
“The south water tower is an elevated water storage tank that was constructed in 1946,” said City Manager James Freed in his memo about the project to Mayor Antia Ashford and the city council. “It’s located at the City’s Department of Public Works yard on Bancroft Street and connected to the water distribution system with a single 20-inch watermain.”
The address of the yard is 1608 Bancroft.
“Water flows in and out of the main depending on pressure in the system,” Freed said. “The pressure is measured from a gauge on the altitude valve that is located in a concrete vault outside of the tower. There are three gate valves in the vault on a parallel bypass pipe that allows the altitude valve to be isolated for maintenance while maintaining flow in and out of the tower.”
The valves are hard to access.
“The isolation valves require confined space entry to operate and have been inoperable for some time,” Freed said. “The pressure gage is obsolete, and the altitude valve has reached the end of its useful life. All of the valves are original and in need of replacing.”
During the pre-bid contractor meeting, “it became clear the project was a challenge due to the constraint of the vault,” Freed said. “The work will be performed in a confined space, and the new valves will have different dimensions, making a custom fit necessary. The new altitude valve will be integrated into the existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system whereas the original did not have the capability. Once complete, the gauge will send readings back to the water filtration plant. The isolation valves will have rising stems and be operable from above grade, omitting the need for confined space
entry to operate. This allows the altitude valve to be more easily isolated for routine maintenance and calibration.”
Raymond Excavating was the lowest of four bidders. Lee Contracting, doing business as Midwest Power Systems, of Pontiac, submitted the second lowest bid at $467,390. Trojan Development Company, of Oxford, was next at $615,000. V.I.L. Construction, Inc., of Sterling Heights, was high at $774,500.
The city provides water to four surrounding townships – Fort Gratiot, Port Huron, Kimball and Clyde.
There was no discussion. The final vote was 6-0; council member Teri Lamb was absent.
“Due to equipment lead time, the project will span multiple fiscal years,” said Freed.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
