Cowan Lake Sanitary Sewer

Grattan Township and the residents around Cowan Lake had discussed the need to construct a municipal sewer system to the homes around the lake for many years. Each of the homes has a water supply from a well and had wastewater disposal in the form of individual septic systems. Over the years, the septic systems began to fail and the small lakefront lots didn’t allow for easy septic system reconstruction. Further, lake water quality testing began to show higher concentrations of pollutants which prompted more and more residents to make a call for action. It was time to construct improvements.

F&V became involved in the project when the Township sought help from experienced firms familiar with wastewater systems serving lake communities. We began by assisting the Township in evaluating alternatives that could serve the community and the project costs associated with each option. The most beneficial solution included the construction of simplex grinder stations at each of the 64 homes around the lake which discharge to a low pressure forcemain that delivered the wastewater to a municipal pump station which in turn pumped the wastewater about seven miles to the existing collection system within Grattan Twp. The project also included improvements to downstream infrastructure including a pump station upgrade and various improvements at the Wastewater Treatment Facility to accommodate the additional flow.

This $3.9M project was funded by special assessments to each of the benefiting properties as well as a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan (SHARP) State grant.

Post-construction the residents had 12 months to connect their homes to the sewer system. The last home connected to the system in the summer of 2022. Residents are said to be very happy with the project and the Township has indicated the new system is working as intended.