“It’s a big blessing to us and to the people, especially in this area,” Malae said in an interview.
On Friday, Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos joined CUC and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the W-8 lift station at Joeten Fina Sisu Housing.
Inos said the completion of the project is “yet another affirmation of the CNMI’s commitment to prudently expending federal funds for the benefit of the island community.
Also attending the ceremony were National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s James Coleman and Paul Clark, who were on Saipan to advise CUC on the possibility of forming a cooperative.
Malae said the W-8 lift station project was undertaken to address serious overflow problems that posed health threats to residents and neighbors in the area.
The initial concept was to replace the failing pumps and electrical controls inside the lift station with newer and more reliable equipment, he said.
However, in the process of developing the project, he said CUC “seized the opportunity to make several additional improvements to its wastewater collection system in the area which has resulted in additional health and environmental safeguards.”
The project cost $550,000 and increased CUC’s efficiency and its revenue generation, he added.
The project was funded by U.S. EPA Clean Water Act State Revolving Fund grants and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
It was constructed by Arch Structure Corporation, and designed by Henry K. Pangelinan & Associates.
In addition to replacing and upgrading the pumps and controls which were the original focus of the project, Malae said they took advantage of available ARRA funding to re-direct the wastewater from the Fina Sisu and Dandan area to the new sewer line running along Chalan Monsignor Martinez.
The project, he added, enabled CUC to remove two other lift stations, W-7 and W-9.
He said the elimination of W-9 was of tremendous value because it removed a source of frequent overflows in a highly visible and public location across from CUC’s main office.
Malae said the W-7 lift station, at Joeten Dandan housing development was abandoned years ago, but wastewater still flowed through it, resulting in an accumulation of solids and odors.
He said another benefit of the re-routing of W-8 was the reduction of flow to the antiquated Northern Marianas College sewer system, which suffered numerous incidences of pipe failure both within the campus itself and along Chalan Monsignor Guerrero.
“The elimination of the Fina Sisu discharge from this piping will reduce the frequency and severity of overflows and pipe failures until CUC is able replace this system in the future,” he added.
