The first sanitary sewers were constructed in Fenton Township in 1968 around the eastern side of the 850-acre Lake Fenton. In an effort to protect the quality of water within the lake and the Township, the wastewater system was installed to the standards of the day. Since this basic beginning, the Township has since accumulated approximately 110 miles of sanitary sewer along with 62 pump stations. The once quiet vacation community found itself in the center of the world’s automotive capital region, pressured by the growth that accompanied the industry.
Dislocated and Cracked sewer lines, along with the potential of overuse, have the ability to reverse the positive effects that were initially intended for the sewer system. This combined with the fact that approximately 20% of Fenton Township is covered with surface water prompted the Township to spearhead a project to inventory and restore the Township’s 110 miles of sanitary sewer. As a part of this effort, the Township entered into an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).
The first order of business required an adequate inventory of the sanitary sewer system. For this, the Township acquired Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI). The Township recognized the value of using a spatial database as a superior platform upon which to base the Sanitary Sewer Inventory and Restoration Project.
While the Township has a Sewer Department, it utilizes a network of contractors for services needed to maintain the sewers. When the sewer project began it was immediately apparent that a quality team needed to be assembled to handle the multitude of tasks required. The project consisted of one Township employee and six contractors with skill sets including project administration, engineering, electrical, excavation, television inspection, jetting and cleaning, repair, global positioning system (GPS), and GIS management and mapping.
The general flow of the project was to locate each manhole recognizing that some were exposed and some were buried, raise all manhole structures to surface grade, perform a physical inspection of each, and make any necessary repairs. To inspect the sewer lines, the pipes were jetted to clean them in preparation for a television (CCTV) crew to record and review each foot of the 110 miles of sewer. The CCTV inspection provided the foundation for any structural repairs that were necessary as well as the removal of any protruding connection leads or roots. As the project ramped up, several contractors were involved in a variety of tasks simultaneously. The Township needed a way to manage and track the progress of the project, overall.
Cityworks was implemented to manage and track the services being rendered as part of the project. Every action required a work order to be issued – from inspecting the first manhole to repairing the last section of sewer line. This enabled the Township to track each contractor and the sequence of every project to the task level.
Cityworks and ArcGIS have empowered the Township to ensure that only authorized work is performed and to the standards they require. Use of these management tools enables the Township to continue to utilize outside contractors and hold each contractor responsible for the work they perform. Work orders are only closed when each contractor validates that their work was completed to the Township’s standards.
With a small staff, the community of Fenton Township is directing the operations of a large project with high demands like those seen in much larger municipalities. The integration of GIS and a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) into the daily workflow has made the effective management of this department not only possible but effective and cost-efficient.