Mokane repairs sewer lift stations

<p>Courtesy of city of Mokane</p><p>The city of Mokane repaired four sewer lift stations.</p>

Courtesy of city of Mokane

The city of Mokane repaired four sewer lift stations.

MOKANE, Mo. - The city of Mokane is making progress on repairing damage from last spring's flood.

Three sewer lift stations across town have already been repaired, and this week, work was done on a fourth lift station on Third Street, which had previously begun to cave in.

These stations have new pumps, and regulation lids have been raised above the flood level.

When a station is too low and a flood hits, water rushes over, causing both pumps to run non-stop, Mayor Pro Tem Chad Booher said. When a station has two pumps, they're meant to run intermittently, not at the same time.

"They're not made to run 24 hours a day," Booher said. "We reported it to (the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency) as an emergency situation. These pump stations are vital."

Floodwaters had caused one of the stations to fail and another to teeter at the brink of failure.

"We had alarms going off regularly because of the pumps," Booher said. "Now they're restored to functioning order. Things will be much better."

With the stations repaired, city staff will be able to monitor the lift stations over the internet. They will receive text alerts for any problems.

The city will seek reimbursement for the lift station repairs from FEMA.

In June, Mokane voters approved a $2.46 million bond issue to fund an overhaul of the city's water and sewer systems as required by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The city has been meeting with state agencies to move forward with the project.