South Lyon Enhances Wastewater Treatment Plant’s Emergency Preparedness

Residents of South Lyon can feel a bit safer knowing that preparations have been made to protect their wastewater treatment plant’s power supply in case of emergencies. The local city council has made moves to improve the reliability of services by approving the purchase of a backup generator for the plant.

During a recent city council meeting, the request to buy and install a brand new 750 kilowatt standby generator was pushed forward by Ronald Beason, who manages the South Lyon Water and Sewer Department. Luckily funding already existed for this purchase in the 2024/2025 financial year.

The new generator is already in the works and a consulting engineering company, Hubbell, Roth and Clark Inc., has been guiding the process by providing specific installation instructions. To find the best deal, the installation job was put up for a bid, receiving offers that ranged from $193,010.00 to a whopping $499,536.00. After careful consideration, the win went to a company called O’Donnell Electric hailing from Whitmore Lake, as they gave the most agreeable bid of $193,010.00.

Commenting on the stark contrast in bid prices, Beason noted that a variety of elements could play a factor, such as the use of various subcontractors contributing to the work. This would be O’Donnell Electric’s first time working with the city, however, Hubbell, Roth and Clark Inc., vouched for their previous successful work on similar projects.

The wastewater treatment plant isn’t a stranger to these types of generators and fuel tanks, but the new setup is expected to majorly enhance the transfer rate of fuel and ensure better environment safety. With its double-walled design, the new tank provides a more secure, leakage-free storage for the fuel – specifically 1,600 gallons of diesel. This amount is estimated to provide 24 hours of power for the plant, buying the plant time to refuel in cases of power outages.

The overall preference for diesel as the choice of fuel is due to the size of the generator. According to Beason, larger generators tend to lose some efficiency and their service technicians have advised them to opt for diesel, which also has a longer lifespan.

The new generator system will be an independent unit, separate from the workings of the wastewater treatment plant. The new generator is expected to be done building by October 10, with the delivery scheduled to be about 10 to 14 days after completion.