Reduced smells, increased efficiency goals of $11M improvement to township water plant

JACKSON COUNTY, MI – Operations at the Clean Water Plant in Leoni Township are running smoother and smelling better after the completion of a multi-million-dollar improvement project.

Township officials were on scene at the plant, located at 8401 Page Ave., for a dedication ceremony Wednesday, May 10, now that the $11.8 million project has been completed and the plant is fully online.

"Folks were just waiting for this place to collapse, but it didn't," Leoni Township Supervisor Howard Linnabary said. "I’m very proud of everyone for all the work that went into finishing this project."

The plant provides wastewater treatment services to Leoni Township residents and the Jackson County townships of Blackman, Columbia, Grass Lake, Hanover, Liberty, Napoleon and Norvell, as well as the villages of Grass Lake and Brooklyn. Cambridge Township in Lenawee County and the townships of Sylvan and Lyndon in Washtenaw County are also served by the plant.

The project, which started in 2019, included replacing the existing flat plate membrane bioreactor technology, MBR, with hollow fiber ultrafiltration MBR technology, replacing influent microscreening equipment and upgrading the biological treatment process to improve water treatment.

The membranes have a useful life of 10-20 years.

Additionally, a scrubber filtration unit was installed at the site in 2021 which dramatically reduces foul odors emitting from the first stages of the water treatment process.

Staff on site praised the scrubber unit, noting that before its installation residents from miles away would complain about the sewage smell and several parts of the plant were inaccessible due to safety concerns.

The improvements, funded through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, were necessary to restore hydraulic capacity and reliability which were compromised as the existing membranes aged, especially during high flow wet-weather events.

"With all the improvements, the plant can now handle the peak flows," said David Harvey, Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering senior associate and project manager. "It was a good F&V team effort. We leveraged our capabilities within the company to deliver the project quickly and within budget."

Fleis & VandenBrink Construction led the project utilizing the progressive design-build delivery method, or building in a step-by-step process, keeping the plant operating during the process. Its sister company, Fleis & VandenBrink Engineering, provided design and construction engineering services.

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