EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Evansville Water & Sewer Utility board spent hundreds of thousands of dollars Tuesday on various projects.
Funded by increasing charges on monthly EWSU bills, the projects are aimed at replacing or repairing decades-old water infrastructure, as well as meeting a federal government requirement to reduce sewage overflows.
Deig Brothers Lumber & Construction Co. of Evansville received a $558,080 contract to replace a mechanical system along Bee Slough that opens and shuts combined sewer overflow gates, based on how much water is flowing through those pipes.
“It’s all in an effort to minimize the overflow that goes into Pigeon Creek, in this case,” said Mike Labitzke, EWSU deputy director of program management. It’s believed the technology will prevent about 60 million gallons of sewage from going into the creek every year.
The EWSU board OK’d the contract 5-0. Connie Robinson, a newly appointed board member, urged that more minority-owned and women-owned firms be part of the project. Talmadge Vick, the city’s contract compliance officer, said he’s met with Deig Brothers about opportunities to increase participation by those local companies.
In another 5-0 vote, the board awarded a $335,370 to BMB Inc. for a waterline replacement project extending from Eichel and Fares avenues to U.S. 41.
The board unanimously OK’d a $200,000 interlocal agreement between EWSU and the Board of Public Works for a “green infrastructure component” in the planned upgrade at Washington Avenue and Southeast Second Street.
Work on the intersection at Haynie’s Corner is expected to start this year. It involves creating a four-way stop, as well as a tree-lined boulevard on Washington.
EWSU officials said they welcome agreements with public and private entities on similar green infrastructure projects, which advance the city’s progress on reducing combined sewer overflows. Evansville is under a federal mandate to eliminate those.
Similar projects have been done on the Back 40 parking lot, at the Evansville Christian Life Center and elsewhere, EWSU officials said. The utility’s board on Tuesday voted to make $1.5 million in grants for green infrastructure projects available in 2020.
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