Lowell hosts forum on West Side Sewer and Water Project
The Town of Lowell hosted a public meeting at the Cedar Creek Township Community Center on Feb. 28 to go over the West Side Sewer and Water Project with public, and answer any questions and address any concerns Lowell residents may have about it.
Lowell Town Council president Todd Angerman explained the outdated water and sewer infrastructure at Lake Prairie Elementary School located at 11601 W. 181st Avenue has been causing the Tri-Creek School Corporation headaches. Angerman said the town decided to take action after receiving federal funds for infrastructure improvements during the COVID-19 lockdowns a few years ago.
Angerman said Tri-Creek already had $1 million earmarked for sewer improvements at Lake Prairie. The town asked the school district to hold the project off for a few years so they can get water service over to the school. The town has the plans drawn up and are the acquiring easements in preparation.
“This is a project we’ve been working on for years,” Angerman said, “and we’re really, really close. My understanding is that most people that have land have already seen presentations, seen the drawings, they’ve had a knock on their door, they already have stakes in their yard to show where the lines are going to be running.”
Jacquelyne Byland of Indiana American Water said there will be two separate lines being run in the scope of the project, one for the water and one for the sewer. Byland said both lines will be running on the south side of W. 181st Avenue, and the water will be closer to the road.
Angerman said the project will not disturb the Lake Prairie Cemetery at the intersection of Route 2 and US 41.
Byland said W. 181st will have to be closed from the railroad viaduct out to the western boundary of the school. She addressed concerns of area homeowners in regards to access to their property, noting they will coordinate with homeowners to ensure they can get in and out of their driveways as needed. Byland estimated the road closure to be approximately one month between both the water and the sewer projects, and after school is out for the summer.
Byland said when the road closes, there will be a well-marked detour around the project. She noted common GPS apps typically update automatically for any planned detours.
Indiana American Water is planning on starting at the end of March and is projecting to be finished by the end of June, according to Byland. She said the water lines will be installed around the same time as the sewer lines, but not at the same time.
“It’s not really feasible for both of us to work in the same location at the same time,” Byland explained. “Our equipment is quite large and they’re deeper than us and we’d be in each other’s way.”
Bob Simpson of R&R Sewer, Water and Excavating of Lowell, the contractor handling the sewer construction, said they are hoping to have their work completed along W. 181st Avenue by middle to late June.
Simpson said they will start at the deepest part of the project, the lift station near the landfill, and work towards the west end of Lake Prairie and east towards the gravity sewer near the Casey’s convenience store. He said the force main runs along Route 2 and then it splits off south near the 800 block of W. Commercial Avenue and runs down Oakley Street to Nichols Street, where they will be installing a new gravity sewer as well.
Simpson said the Oakley Street sewer project will go right down the middle of the road. However, he noted they will keep the street as open as possible during construction.
Joe Borgers from Wessler Engineering of Hobart added the road will be repaved as part of the project. Borgers added the sewer to the west isn’t large enough and is discharging into the sewer on Oakley, so they will be enlarging it.
Byland said the IAWC water lines will be approximately 5 feet deep. Simpson said the depth of the sewer lines can range from 10 to 20 feet deep.
When asked about the opportunity to tap into the water and sewer lines, Angerman said homeowners would have the option of tapping into the sewer line for no connection fee for a certain amount of time. However, Byland quickly pointed out there will be a tap-in fee for the water line if a property owner would like municipal water service.
“Honestly you want to do it as soon as you can,” Borgers said of the sewer line connection. “The road is already torn up. You might as well get it done then.”
Angerman reiterated the tap-ins for the water and sewer lines is completely optional for the property owner.