Innovative Solutions for Combined Sewer Overflow Control in Muncie, Indiana

As the Muncie Sanitary District (MSD) continues to implement the District's combined sewer long (CSO) term control plan (LTCP), the MSD is continuously looking at innovative ways to solve its CSO overflow issues. In 2016, the MSD took a unique approach to implementing the current round of projects as part of its CSO LTCP by utilizing a unique financing methodology along with innovative solutions for controlling CSO's. This presentation will describe the process of the 2016 MSD projects. We will walk through the history of the LTCP program and describe in detail the most recent projects. In general, the 2016 projects included an 80 million gallon per day pump station, approximately 1,400 feet of 108-inch diameter combined sewer, 1.1 million gallon settling tank, and approximately 18-million-gallon wet weather storage lagoon. The projects started with a CSO hydraulic model, with various scenarios analyzed to meet the requirements of MSD's LTCP. As the team modeled various scenarios, a clear picture of the needed improvements started to emerge. With a majority of the wet weather flow ending up near the Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF), improvements were needed near the WPCF. To handle the wet weather flow, it was determined that a new larger interceptor would be required along with a storage basin to store the wet weather volume until there was capacity at the WPCF. As alternatives were evaluated, the team took the innovative approach to design the wet weather pump station and storage basin to meet the requirements. As the team was starting design, the MSD decided to utilize a unique financing and contracting mechanism known as a guaranteed savings contract (GSC). Utilizing this methodology allowed the MSD to bring a contractor on board at approximately 60% design, then work with both the District and designers to finalize the design. The GSC also provided MSD with a guaranteed maximum price for the project. With a guaranteed maximum price contract, any savings under the maximum price are shared between the contractor and Owner. With a contractor on board, the team worked to complete the final design of the 2016 projects. With the contractor providing valuable input, the team worked to complete the designs of the projects in late 2018 and the contractor working to start construction in 2019. As we worked through the final design, the team encountered multiple obstacles, including contaminated soils and budget issues. We will discuss how we overcame these issues to develop a final product. As design wrapped up, the project moved into construction in 2019. Although a contractor was brought on board early in the process, the team still encountered obstacles throughout the construction of the wet weather pump station and the storage basin. We will discuss how we overcame these obstacles, and the project was completed in late 2020. With the entire facility in operation, we can demonstrate how the project utilized innovative solutions and unique financing to solve the MSD's wet weather issues.