The Big Rapids city commission received recommendations from Fleis and VandenBrink for improvements to the water system at the Hills of Mitchell Creek recently.

BIG RAPIDS — The city of Big Rapids is considering upgrades to the water system’s booster station at the Hills of Mitchell Creek subdivision in Big Rapids Township.

Although the subdivision is not in the city limits, the booster station serving the Hills of Mitchell Creek is part of the city’s public water system.

According to information from the Big Rapids department of public works, in assessing the booster station it was determined that there is a need to improve the system to mitigate excessive pump cycling and pressure surges.

Fleis and VandenBrink Engineering was hired by the city in 2021 to do a feasibility study to look at different alternatives to address the challenges at the booster station.

During a recent city commission meeting, engineer Scott Hall presented the board with information about their assessment of the booster station and their recommendations for improvements.

Hall explained that the system was originally built in 2005 and is intended to boost the water pressure to provide positive pressure for the homeowners in the subdivision.

“The station is at the bottom of a hill, and It is necessary to increase the water pressure from 60 pounds per minute at the main connection to 90 pounds per minute as it goes up the hill,” Hall said. “The main challenge with the station is the pump sizes. Every time someone opens a faucet, the pressure drops in the system and the pumps turn on. They quickly recharge the pressure and shut back off in a bout 3 seconds. It is not healthy for an electrical motor to be kicking on and off like that.”

Another issue, he said, is the inadequate fire flow protection at the top of the hill. Typically, they like to have around 1,000 gallons of pressure per minute available, and the pump capacity there is around 520 gallons per minute.

The recommendation from Fleis & VandenBrink is to replace the two current pumps with smaller pumps that require less pressure and install bladder tanks to regulate water pressure, with a third high capacity pump installed for fire suppression. This would require expanding the current building to accommodate the new pumps.

The recommendation also included upgrading the generator to meet the needs of the booster station.

“This is a significant rework of the station at a significant cost,” Hall said. “It has been put off to study it and evaluate funding options.” 

Mayor Fred Guenther said he did not feel good about the city, which does not have a single resident at the Hills of Mitchell Creek, absorbing the expense and city residents having to pay for it on their water bills.

Commissioner Karen Simmon said the residents there are water customers of the city and in that sense are no different than those living in the city and getting a water bill.

“As a municipality, we have utilities and part of having utilities is keeping them in working order and preventing things like major pump failures,” Simmon said. “To me, this seems like maintenance of a system”

Hall suggested that one option is to go ahead with the detail design phase of the project and get a set of specifications that could be submitted for permits with the Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment and put out for bids.

“If the price comes back too high, we could look at other alternatives,” he said. “You can stop the project at any time, but you would have the solution if you decide to move forward with it.”

Guenther said this is not a new issue, but has been going on for some time now, and they will continue to look at the issue before making a decision on how to move forward.

Cathie Crew has a bachelor's degree in English with teacher certification. She taught ELA for 15 years. She grew up around this area, and recently returned to Big Rapids after having lived in Texas for many years. Her favorite pastimes are traveling and spending time with her two adult children.