The Wilmington City Council unanimously approved a contract with a Raleigh, N.C., engineering firm that would prove to be the largest amount paid for sewer repairs since problems began in 2005.
The trouble began for Wilmington, N.C., during the 2005 Fourth of July Weekend, when three million gallons of wastewater spilled from the Northeast Interceptor into a creek. This incident prompted the city to discuss making drastic changes. According to the Wilmington Star, the $2.7 million contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates will be the start of several repair projects on the interceptor, which has spilled five million gallons of raw sewage into Hewletts Creek over the last couple of years.
The Wilmington Star reports that the contract includes design and other labor for the relocation of a 7,000-foot section of the interceptor near the Hewletts Creek sewage pump station. The pipe will be moved away from its current spot in a marshy area beside the creek, an area that limits access to the pipe. The contract also includes the design of immediate pump station improvements needed to keep up with increasing sewage flow until more extensive improvements are made to the interceptor over several years.
Frank Styers, a project manager with the city, told the Wilmington Star that construction is scheduled to begin in September 2007.
Source: The Wilmington Star
