The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, and Kindred, North Dakota, celebrated the commencement of the sanitary sewer upgrade and expansion project for the city in a groundbreaking ceremony at the city’s wastewater treatment facility Oct. 1, 2021.
“As a civil engineer, I can appreciate the type of infrastructure that’s behind the scenes that citizens don’t see,” stated Col. Karl Jansen, St. Paul District commander, during the ceremony. “That makes their lives better, and when we can roll up our sleeves and work hard and solve something going back seven years, I think they’d be proud to know that they have leaders like you, the council, and a great reputable engineering firm working on their behalf.”
The project, covered under the Corps’ Environmental Infrastructure Assistance Program, includes the construction of new wastewater lagoons, upgrades to the existing main sanitary sewer lift station, installation of new sanitary sewer force main and decommissioning of existing wastewater lagoons.
“Most importantly there are people behind the scenes that are the unsung heroes of the community,” Jansen added, “Most people don’t even know what these employees are preventing on a day-to- day basis for the environment they live and work in.”
The sanitary sewer system improvements will increase the city’s sanitary sewer service capacity, while remaining in compliance with environmental water quality rules and minimizing bypasses of untreated wastewater and associated health risks.
The project has a total cost of approximately $8 million, of which $5.45 million will be eligible for federal funding.
The St. Paul District’s environmental infrastructure programs assist rural communities with building, designing and/or restoring environmentally friendly water supply and wastewater treatment systems. As of 2021, the district has assisted more than 50 communities in building 70 projects totaling over $80 million.
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