American Structure Point outlines Lawrence City SSO corrective action plan, multi‑year projects and targets

Karen Sabadra of American Structure Point presented the Lawrence City Utility Service Board with a five‑year Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) corrective action plan at the board’s February 2026 meeting. The plan, approved by the city in April 2025, lays out an initial three‑year slate of projects and longer‑term construction intended to reduce peak sewage flows during rain events and address EPA‑identified overflow locations.

Sabadra told the board that the plan begins with flow metering along the Indian Creek interceptor (completed) and that the next step is targeted inflow and infiltration (I&I) removal work in the 71st/Oakland area and the 46th/Post area. She said one I&I project is substantially complete and that bids for the 46th/Post work will be opened on March 13, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at the Lawrence Community Center and that a virtual preconstruction meeting is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.

The presentation summarized historical context: an administrative order first signed in 2008, a 2010 plan, and a renewed order executed in 2021. Sabadra said the city’s approved corrective action plan requires a sequence of work — modeling, targeted I&I projects, post‑project flow monitoring and then larger construction such as parallel gravity sewer lines and offline storage basins — to avoid spikes during heavy rain and to meet the consent‑order goals.

On expected costs and schedule, Sabadra said the initial projects over the next three years total “approximately $14,800,000” as approved, and that the five‑year plan is an estimated figure that the transcript truncates (figure not fully stated in the meeting record). She described the storage basins and parallel gravity sewer work as measures to “store some of that…sewer flow” during wet weather and pump it back after peak events, and she set an overall construction completion target of April 2030.

Board members asked whether the plan could eliminate overflows entirely. Sabadra said getting to zero overflows is physically possible but that the action plan sets realistic reduction targets: “we wrote in the action plan was to reduce by certain percentages ranging, anywhere from, like, 20 to 40% in those areas.” She cited previous projects and tracked data from other jurisdictions as the basis for those expectations.

The presentation and subsequent discussion acknowledged the contribution of private laterals (homeowner connections) as well as municipal mains to I&I. Sabadra said the team identified breaks and gaps in mainlines and also lateral connection points that allow groundwater to enter the system; she explained the plan includes lining and sealing connections where feasible but noted the city cannot unilaterally control private property connections. In response to a question about inspections, staff said the utility currently does not perform full inspections of private laterals; Sabadra and other presenters recommended CCTV and smoke testing to locate problem connections and suggested the board consider funding approaches, such as grants or property assessments, to assist homeowners with repairs.

Sabadra also confirmed coordination with Citizens Energy Group and said current construction is being funded from existing bond money while additional funding will be pursued for remaining projects. She identified collaboration with private sewer system owners (for example, Mason Gardens and Jamestown Apartments) where necessary to align timing and repairs.

The board did not take a formal vote on the corrective action plan itself at this meeting; the board received the presentation, asked questions and approved several related contract amendments and task orders in other agenda items.

The Utility Service Board will see upcoming contract documents and project bid results; the next procedural dates referenced in the meeting record were the March 13 bid opening and the Feb. 19 virtual preconstruction meeting.