City sewer system getting upgrades

FLORENCE - Citywide sewer upgrades - years in the making and state mandated to correct for overflows - will finally be finished after expansion of the Cox Creek sewer line, which is expected to be completed in mid-2009.

The last of 13 projects is under way, a $2,952,132 project awarded to DRM Utilities, of Tuscaloosa, that will include installation of a new sewer line running parallel to Cox Creek that will double the capacity along that corridor.

The majority of the city's sewer system was built in the 1950s and through the years, 13 main areas experienced overflow problems, said water manager Mike Doyle.

Across the state, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management mandated that several cities correct overflow problems.

The last project for Florence will complete its sanitary sewer overflow correction program that began in 2005 and cost approximately $11.5 million.

To pay for the project, Florence received about $13.2 million from state revolving funds, which are low interest loans administered through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Doyle said.

For the latest project, a new sewer line will be installed along Cox Creek from near Randolph Street and Fairgrounds Road to near Jackson Road at Cypress Creek.

Officials said they expect no impact to utility services and minimal impact on traffic or businesses. All property owners potentially affected were contacted before the project began.

Construction has been under way for a month and is scheduled to be completed in 290 calendar days, or approximately mid-April. The state mandated that all projects be completed by mid-2009.

Doyle said the city started dealing with overflow problems in 1993 and that the first major project was upgrading the treatment plant, which cost the city $43 million.

"We're solving the problem from the plant back," Doyle said.

Trevor Stokes can be reached at 740-5728 or trevor.stokes@TimesDaily.com