$45M Middletown basin would reduce sewer overflow into Great Miami River
Aug. 30—The city of Middletown, by the end of 2025, will have a 5.1-million gallon buried combined sewer overflow storage basin that will help reduce combined sewer overflows into the Great Miami River during wet weather.
Earlier this year, City Council approved a contract with the design build team of Gresham Smith and Shook Construction to begin designing and construct a buried combined sewer overflow storage basin on part of the Essity property, across the street from the City Building.
The total cost of the project is estimated to be $45 million with about $2.4 million in pre-construction services, according to Scott Tadych, public works director.
Tadych said construction is expected to start in 2023 and be completed by the end of 2025.
"We're still very early in the process," he said.
Once the underground portion of the project in finished, Tadych said landscape will be added to the area, giving it a park-like appearance.
Tadych said the basin will allow the city to hold back the flow of the sewer during large storm events to reduce the amount of sewer water entering the Great Miami River. The basin will support the city's goal of adhering to the highest environmental standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, according to Tadych.
Gresham Smith's Water + Environment Project Executive Saa Shemsu said mitigating combined sewer overflows is a "crucial part" of protecting the river and managing wet weather flows to Middletown's wastewater treatment plant.
Gresham Smith will provide planning and modeling services to evaluate storage basin configurations that feature influent screening, odor control and remote automation before designing the optimal solution, the company said.
Once the buried CSO Storage basin design is complete, the firm will provide landscape architecture, construction administration and start-up services.
Shook Construction will provide cost estimating, scheduling and constructability reviews throughout design process and lead the construction of all above and below ground infrastructure, the company said.
