Long Term Control Plan - 2012 Projects
As part of a federal and state mandate, the Town of Speedway complete and implement $31.3 million in sewer system improvements in 2012, including repairs to the wastewater treatment plant. Permit requirements and an Agreed Order with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management required Speedway to correct these issues by 2012.
These 2012 improvements of its sewer system were required in order to meet water quality standards and provide relief from neighborhood flooding issues. The Town's Storm Water Management Board (SWMB) and the Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) approved the plans to eliminate or greatly reduce raw sewage overflows to Eagle Creek and address aging conditions at the wastewater treatment plant.
After evaluating various alternatives and costs, the Town finalized plans to separate sewers, repair the wastewater treatment plant and virtually eliminate raw sewage overflows to Eagle Creek. The plan included the following projects:
- Installed new pumps and a disinfection system, upgraded grit removal and oxygen system equipment, as well as the solids handling process, and made other wastewater treatment plant improvements necessary to meet legal requirements
- Separated sewers in the Gerrard and Allison project area to eliminate sewer back-ups and address long-standing neighborhood flooding issues
- Separated sewers in the Old Speedway neighborhood by building new storm sewers and converted existing sewers to sanitary sewers
- Replaced an existing 72-inch combined sewer under Main Street with a new 66-inch sewer, which will continue to handle only sanitary flows and a decreasing amount of storm flow as the town's sewers are separated, as well as construction of a new 54-inch storm sewer
- Built an additional 1 million gallon storage facility at the wastewater treatment plant
At that time, the Town identified two projects as early action projects: the separation of sewers in the Gerrard and Allison neighborhood, and Main Street sewer upgrades.
While the town is pursued state and federal grants and low-interest loans to keep costs down, ratepayers paid for the bulk of these improvements. A rate increase was proposed to the Speedway Town Council to pay off these bonds over time. Under the proposal, the average ratepayer's sewer bill (5,000 gallons per month) would increase in January 2010 from $14.20 per month to $18.90 - an increase of $4.70 per month. A second rate increase of $7.35 per month for the average user will also be needed.
When the Town's first sewers were built in the early 1900s, the pipes were combined, designed to carry both stormwater and sewage from homes and businesses. During dry weather, sewage flows safely through the sewers to the wastewater treatment plant. However, approximately 50 to 60 times a year, the sewers are overwhelmed by incoming rainwater or melting snow, causing untreated sewage to overflow into Eagle Creek. Of the 72 miles of sewers located in the Town, 15 percent are combined.