Project Description

Several issues confronted the 4th Street Pump Station and Force Main, originally constructed in the early 1970s to serve the City of Van Buren’s downtown area. These issues included capacity limitations and potential flooding problems. This project included the abandonment of the existing pump station and the construction of a new pump station with increased capacity and an electrical building. A challenge to this new construction involved poor in-situ soils and a high groundwater table. An elaborate shoring and dewatering system had to be installed to facilitate construction. The project also included raising the finished floor elevation of the pump station to 1 foot above the 100-year flood plain, installation of submersible pumps, and the construction of a new check valve vault. A new force main (16 and 18-inch) was installed to convey wastewater flow to the Van Buren Main Wastewater Treatment Plant. Hawkins-Weir Engineers provided design, construction observation, and construction management services for the project.