Athens City Council declared Oakmont pump station an emergency situation and authorized the immediate purchase of new sewage pumps at a special session last night.
Normally, a formal bidding process to replace sewage pumps must take place before a purchase can be made, but because of continued maintenance concerns and the threat of cold weather, council members agreed the rules should be suspended in this case. The new pumps will replace the rented pumps at the station located at the bottom of Dove Drive.
In August, city worker Mike Stanley was killed and city worker David Carder was injured while fixing a sewer maintenance problem.
Last week Mayor Ric Abel presented three options to improve the pump station. The first option offered was to replace the underground pumps already at the station, but the underground pumps have broken down several times since they were installed and are difficult to repair, he said.
Another option council could have approved was to keep the underground pumps while adding a motorized rail that would lift the pumps above ground for repairs. This option does not really solve the problem, but adds another process and another part that might need more maintenance and repair, Abel said.
The third option -
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