The Village of Sister Bay retained Robert E. Lee & Associates to prepare a facility plan, drawings, and specifications for significant modifications to the WWTP.

• A significant addition to the garage was completed
• Additional offices and a conference room were added to the Service Building
• RAS/WAS pump replacement
• NPW system upgrades
• Replacement of the orbal drives and motors
• Thickened sludge pump replacement
• Final clarifier rebuilds
• Added a dual pod fine bubble aeration to a sludge storage tank
• Sludge thickening equipment replacement and upgrades
• Upgrade disinfection system from chlorination/dechlorination to UV
• Additional parking stalls added to the WWTP
• Complete site asphalt replacement
• Conversion of the a phone-based SCADA system to a radio-based SCADA system.

The City of Waupaca retained Robert E. Lee & Associates to prepare plans and specifications for the modifications to the existing anaerobic digester at the City of Waupaca wastewater treatment plant. The project included removal, re-coating, and reinstallation of the floating digester cover, the addition of sludge recirculation pumps, the addition of fixed, mounted mixing nozzles, and replacement of sludge piping.

The Village needed to upgrade their existing undersized and deteriorating 12-inch asbestos cement interceptor sewer and fiberglass manhole structures. These facilities contributed a significant amount of inflow/infiltration (I/I) to Hilbert’s system. In addition, the interceptor was located downstream of a junction of two 12-inch pipes. Because of this bottleneck and I/I upstream, basement flooding had become a frequent occurrence. The existing interceptor system was replaced in a new location with 3,400 lineal feet of 24-inch HDPE pipe and new RCP manholes. The project was constructed in easements through existing fields and crossed a navigable waterway and an active railroad. The stream crossing, roadway crossing, and the railroad crossing were all accomplished by boring and jacking steel casing pipes; additionally, two laterals were directionally bored under the creek. Wetlands were identified during the planning process and protected throughout the construction process, and NES Ecological Services delineated the wetlands. High groundwater with high levels of silt necessitated the installation of a groundwater removal system to allow for excavation and installation of the pipeline. REL was able to work with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to accomplish this work within WDNR permit requirements. Railroad permitting was also required to allow for boring under the active railroad. Since the interceptor replacement, the Village of Hilbert has recorded a significant decrease in the I/I issues of their wastewater treatment plant.

The Village of Hilbert retained Robert E. Lee & Associates to prepare plans and specifications for modifications to the existing wastewater treatment plant. The project included a dissolved air flotation unit to address the buildup of large clumps of fats, oils, and grease throughout the WWTP process. A new Dewatering Building was constructed to house the relocated sludge belt press. The existing incline screen was relocated to the new septage receiving tank and a new vertical screen was added before the RAW pumps. The RAW pumps, RAS/WAS pumps, orbal aeration motors and drives, and a majority of the electrical was replaced and upgraded with the project. A submersible mixer was added to the inner channel of the orbal in place of disc aerators to assist with the bio-P removal process. The final clarifier was taken out of service to repaint and replace the drive. A new 50,000-gallon septage receiving tank with coarse bubble aeration was constructed to replace the aging septage receiving tank, with no aeration and limited capacity. SCADA system was modified for the new equipment and process controls. The entire site was relandscaped to alter the storm water drainage. The deteriorated metal lab cabinets and counter tops were replaced with wood cabinets and epoxy resin counter tops. REL provided full-time construction observation during underground work and part-time construction observation for the remainder of the construction work. Wetlands were identified during the planning process and protected throughout the construction process. The project was the first major upgrade project at the WWTP since the last upgrade in 1996.

Sanitary sewer, water mains, curb and gutter, sidewalks and roadways along portions of St. Paul Street and Paine Street were deteriorating and, in the case of the utilities, undersized.

Robert E. Lee & Associates worked with the City of Kiel to design and construct upgraded utilities to accommodate increased sewer flows and water demands and to replace existing lead water services. Deteriorated paved surfaces including curb and gutter, pavement, and sidewalks were reconstructed and/or realigned to provide for safer roadways, sidewalks and intersections. Additionally, wider sidewalks near a bus loading and unloading turnout in the school area were designed to provide for improved student safety. The area on Paine St. is immediately adjacent to City hall, police department, a city park and middle school. Construction was coordinated to avoid conflicts with school schedules and maintain access to the other City facilities at all times. Specifically, work was not allowed to begin until school was completed in June, and all work was completed prior to the start of school in late August; a summer festival in the City park was also accommodated during the course of construction. Robert E. Lee & Associates acquired permits from Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as required to accomplish the work.

The Village of Black Creek retained Robert E. Lee & Associates to prepare plans and specifications for the addition of a second sludge storage tank to the existing wastewater treatment plant. Due to population growth and expansion of a local food processing company, the wastewater treatment plant needed additional sludge storage. To address sludge storage, a second one million-gallon sludge storage tank was constructed. The sludge storage tank includes a re-circulation pump and multiple nozzles to provide mixing.