ALLOUEZ TOWNSHIP — The township board received an update on its Wastewater Systems Improvement project at its regular January meeting last Wednesday.

Emmett Bjorn, engineer with U.P. Engineers and Architects, who is overseeing the project, told the board that the permit design and the final design are 90% complete.

In January 2023, the township received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan and grant for the improvement project. According to the USDA Rural Development Infrastructure and Jobs and Lead News Release dated Jan. 11, 2023, the Rural Development investment is to assist the township to replace valves, upgrade the electronic control system and make repairs to the drain fields used to treat wastewater. The project is necessary to alleviate cited health and sanitary concerns that will increase the community’s resilience to the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, such as floods and heavy spring rainstorms.

“We’re updating the wastewater sewer system,” Bjorn said, “which is more than 30 years old. We’re scheduled to start bidding out the project in late winter or early spring and start the construction project in summer of 2024.”

In June 2023, the township announced its intent to issue and sell revenue bonds for the purpose of paying all or part of the cost the project, to acquire, construct, furnish and equip additions, extensions and improvements to the wastewater system, consisting generally of replacing mechanical pumps, electrical control components located at the pressurized drain field sites, gate valves, along with other necessary upgrades and repairs.

At Wednesday’s board meeting, Bjorn requested the members to sign a letter authorizing UPE&A to submit a permit on behalf of the township.

“We’ve been working with EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy)for a while now,” Bjorn told the board on Wednesday, “on the basics of design of the list station pumps that we’re replacing.”