Board weighs accelerating generator purchases after storms knocked out power to lift stations

Board members reviewed emergency operations after a series of storms that left multiple wastewater lift stations without power and discussed accelerating purchases of backup generators.

During the meeting, staff reported crews were out multiple nights responding to outages, with as many as 19 lift stations losing power during the worst event. Staff described a sustained effort to pump and rotate crews to prevent overflows, and members praised the response and the long hours worked by operations crews.

Members said the current five-year budget plan assumed buying roughly two generators per year; several members asked whether that pace could be increased. One member suggested moving purchases up in the capital plan to acquire three or four units per year until critical stations were covered. Staff said the McDonald's site project and the Hogan site installation will add resilience once installations are complete.

The board did not adopt a new procurement schedule at the meeting but discussed including additional generators in next year’s budget and prioritizing critical lift stations. No formal vote or allocation beyond the previously approved budget plan occurred at the meeting.

The board also discussed operational lessons from the storms, including better coordination for temporary generator sharing among stations and the need for an additional permanent generator at one key location. Staff said they will return with specific cost estimates and a recommended procurement schedule for the board to consider in budget planning.