Lebanon Utilities approves design contract to resolve Edwards Drive wastewater conveyance bottleneck

Lebanon Utilities approves design contract to resolve Edwards Drive wastewater conveyance bottleneckThe utility board has greenlit a $226,400 design and inspection agreement to rehabilitate the Edwards Drive lift station and install a new force main, addressing flow limitations to the business park.

The board approved an agreement with BF&S not to exceed $226,400 for design, permitting, and construction inspection of the Edwards Drive lift station.

The project includes a new force main to resolve a conveyance issue that previously prevented the station from sending increased flows to the recently upgraded business park lift station.

Design work is expected to take a couple of months, with a separate funding request for capital construction to follow.

The board also approved over $20.4 million in claims, driven by multi-million-dollar invoices from ongoing, bond-funded construction projects.

Lebanon Utilities is moving forward with a critical wastewater infrastructure upgrade after the Service Board approved a design agreement for the Edwards Drive lift station rehabilitation during its July 8, 2026, meeting. The board authorized an agreement with engineering firm BF&S for an amount not to exceed $226,400. The contract covers surveying, design, permitting, and construction inspection services for the lift station, which is located near Ken's Foods and New Cold. A staff member noted that the rehabilitation was originally included in the previous year's budget but delayed after an evaluation revealed a critical conveyance bottleneck. Upgrading the Edwards Drive station's capacity alone would not have been beneficial because the utility lacked the infrastructure to transport the additional flow to the recently upgraded business park lift station. To resolve this, the new design will incorporate a force main to improve conveyance between the two sites. "Once we upgraded, being able to take more flow wouldn't do us any good because we couldn't convey it to the new business park lift station," the staff member explained to the board. The design phase is expected to take a couple of months. Once completed, utility staff will return to the board to request the capital funds required to execute the construction phase. The wastewater project advances as Lebanon Utilities manages a significant surge in overall capital spending. Later in the meeting, the board approved unusually large claims and payroll totaling $20,469,403.44, alongside $6,897,321.33 in transfers. Staff attributed the high volume to major ongoing, bond-funded "LEED construction" projects, noting that the utility is currently receiving multi-million-dollar monthly claims from various contractors due to the sheer number of moving projects.