GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY HELD FOR BIG RAPIDS PROJECT

Officials from the City of Big Rapids, Green Charter Township and Big Rapids Charter Township held a groundbreaking ceremony March 2, 2009, at the Big Rapids Wastewater Treatment Plant in Big Rapids, Michigan. The event celebrated the start of a $7.9 million construction project that will update facilities dating from the mid-1950’s. Improvements include:

• Construction of a new aeration tank
• Blower building expansion and installation of a new air supply system
• Conversion to gravity thickening with aerobic digestion of the organic matter
• Addition to the administrative building and construction of a new maintenance building
• New electrical system including a permanent standby generator
• New instrumentation system
• Demolition of the old structures located in the flood plain

Erhardt is the construction manager. Design engineers for the project are Prein & Newhof and Century AE, both from Grand Rapids, Michigan.