By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Ortonville — During the regular Monday night meeting, the Ortonville Village Council were given a presentation of the preliminary sewer study by Rowe Engineering.
“The sewer study we did is more of an update,” said Scott Hemeyer of Rowe Professional Services. “There were previous sewer studies, and the most recent one in 2004.”
The project will bring sewer lines down from Grand Blanc into Oakland County via Dixie Highway, then over to Brandon Township and the village of Ortonville. The project will take several years, and cost around $80 million total.
The lines from Grand Blanc already have capacity for the area, but the next phase is the Northwest Oakland County Interceptor connection, which would bring the line down Dixie Highway.
Within the village of Ortonville, Hemeyer outlined 16 collector districts, which had a total of 665 parcels.
“We focused on low-pressure collection systems for existing land use and projection for the future,” he said.
The low pressure system is only five feet underground, and they can follow the terrain without having to account for gravity, but the limitation is the pumps are mechanical and would require maintenance over time.
“The pump would be serviced by electric from the house and pumps out through an inch and a half service line and out to the main line,” said Hemeyer.
The total cost for the village could be just under $34 million, which is about $25,000 per average household. Currently, the county and the village are looking at potential funding sources. Since septic systems pose a potential hazard to the environment, there may be funding from federal or state government.
“Most people consider sewers a much more eco-friendly system when compared to sceptics,” said Hemeyer.
The Genesee County portion is projected to begin in 2024.