On Wednesday, Feb. 14, the City Council gave Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) the green light to move forward with three projects that aim to modernize Tyler's infrastructure and reduce maintenance and operation costs.
Earl Campbell Gravity Sewer Main
The Earl Campbell Lift Station will be decommissioned, demolished and replaced with a new gravity sewer line. This project will reduce City maintenance and operations costs as the sanitary sewer will be conveyed by gravity instead of using a lift station.
The new gravity sewer line will be approximately 4,000 linear feet of eight-inch diameter and be constructed in private utility easements to convey wastewater to an existing gravity sewer line. The project is expected to be bond-funded and is part of the City's efforts to address the aging wastewater collection system and resulting discharges. In 2017, Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) entered into a Consent Decree with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address these issues.
South Glenwood Ground Storage Tank Demolition
The South Glenwood Ground Storage Tank (GST), located on Glenwood Boulevard between Vine Street and Houston Street has been out of service for over 30 years and served its purpose in the Tyler distribution system. To facilitate the removal of the tank, the City of Tyler has awarded a contract to KSA Engineers, Inc., including a set of plans, bidding, construction administration, and inspection for the two-month project.
Initially constructed in the 1940s, the tank served as storage and a distribution point into the system from well number two. However, on Jan. 24, 2024, the City Council approved demolishing well number two, rendering the GST obsolete.
The project will cost $275,000 and be funded from cash on hand. The GST will be removed by the end of 2024.
Bellwood Lift Station
The City of Tyler is considering a new option for the Bellwood Lift Station Improvements Project, which would eliminate the lift station and replace the force main with a new gravity line in the same general area. The Council approved KSA Engineers to move forward with a Bellwood Lift Station Improvements Design Survey for $85,000.
Located on the north side of Bellwood Lake, the Bellwood Lift Station is critical to the City's collection system. It services 3,310 acres, including All Saints Episcopal School, The Cascades, TJC West Campus and several local car dealerships. However, the lift station is nearing its maximum capacity, and the commercial development currently under construction in the basin will contribute additional flow to the Bellwood Lift Station.
In 2023, the City contracted KSA to evaluate several lift stations, with Bellwood at the top of the priority list. As a result of the study, a new option was presented, which could save the City maintenance and operations costs over the life of the collection basin and eliminate the responsibility of overseeing a lift station.
Over this next phase of the Bellwood Lift Station Improvements Project, KSA will develop design-level survey data to provide the necessary data to determine whether replacing the lift station and force main is feasible.
"The study portion of this project is complete and based on its findings, we have determined the preferred path forward to replace the force main with a gravity line," said Utilities Director Kate Dietz, P.E. "In order to verify that this option is in fact possible with the existing topography and land layout, the data will be gathered and analyzed to determine the direction for design and how to move this project forward."
The analysis is anticipated to be complete in May, and then TWU will move forward with the construction, which is estimated to take 18 months.
