Cloverdale receives $600,000 grant for Doe Creek lift station

The Town of Cloverdale was recently awarded a $600,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The grant has been obtained through the efforts of (front, from left) Grant Administrator Kristy Jerrell, Cloverdale Town Council President Cathy Tipton, (back, from left) Putnam County Community Foundation Director Elaine Peck and Rockwell Foundation President Dennis Padgett.

CLOVERDALE -- After a 10-year process, the Town of Cloverdale was awarded a $600,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, which is funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant program, to help repair the Doe Creek lift station.

The Doe Creek lift station, constructed in 1963, along with its two pumps is only equipped to handle a flow of 800 gallons per minute. Through the years the structure has severely deteriorated and has been an ongoing operational problem for more than 10 years.

Since 2005, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has expressed concern and recommended the lift station be replaced. It has also been noted the last three years on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Facility Inspection Reports conducted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

In 2011 alone, a total of six violations have occurred at the Doe Creek lift station, the surrounding area and the adjacent manholes due to the lift station being at full capacity from moderate to heavy rainfall.

The grant will be used for various things such as the demolition of the existing Doe Creek lift station, which includes the removal of all equipment and proper abandonment and termination of pipes and structures.

It will also be used to restore the existing lift station's access drive and areas surrounding the lift station, the installation of the a new precast concrete lift and control panel.

"The need for the new lift station is just so overwhelming," said Kristy Jerrell, economic development planner and certified grant administrator. "Without the overwhelming support and hard work of the current Town Council President Cathy Tipton, this grant award would not have been possible."

Additional problems exist within the town's wastewater system such as force main issues. The grant will also help fund moving the force main discharge point to a deeper, 6-10 inch manhole in order to prevent future overflows, replacing 3,500 linear feet of cast-iron force main with a six-inch PVC force main as well as roadway reconstruction due to disturbance from the relocation of the force main.

The wastewater system is also in dire need of new sewer mains as the originals were constructed in 1963 and do not have the adequate capacity to transport flow.

The grant will also help with the replacement and installation of 500 linear feet of sewer as well as the addition of three new manholes.

After obtaining capital dollars from the Rockwell Foundation as well as working with project manager Lori Young of IDEM, the town was able to raise the 10 percent of the $600,000 for philanthropic dollars needed.

The total project cost is $667,190. Construction is projected to start at the end of August 2012 and be completed in June 2013.