Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

A subdivision in Brighton is set to get a new water-booster station, which will not only increase water pressure, but allow the safe use of fire hydrants, officials said.

During a City Council meeting on Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to approve a motion to add the station on Hamburg Road to serve the Pine Creek subdivision.

The water-booster station is from Gorman-Rupp, and has a price of $386,420, according to the agenda from Tuesday’s meeting.

The Pine Creek Homeowners Association requested that discussions regarding the plan to increase the subdivision’s water pressure restart in December of 2023. The discussion was paused in 2017, due to “issues within the PC-HOA,” the agenda said.

An investigation by the city determined that the issues had been addressed and the plan could move forward.

Tetra Tech received approval to “perform the design and construction engineering” at the City Council meeting held on Jan. 9, 2024.

The information and calculations led the staff to propose the purchase of a Gorman-Rupp Booster Station during a meeting in April, believing that the system would meet the needs of the subdivision.

Before purchasing the station, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy needed to approve the plan. It was proposed that the pumps could be smaller and still meet the needs of the community after performing a hydraulic study in the area.

“Unfortunately, as we continued to work toward a final design it was discovered that while the
pressure could be raised, the minimum hydrant flow allowable of 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm) could not be met regardless of what horsepower pumps were installed,” the notes included in the meeting’s agenda said. “The 1,000-gpm rating is part of the City of Brighton standards and what we consistently provide our customers throughout the water system. With the design of the current booster, only 800 gpm could be achieved.”

EGLE, the Brighton Area Fire Authority and Hamburg Fire Authority wrote letters to the City expressing concerns if there was a fire.

It was determined that one of two options were available to increase the volume that would be needed during a fire.

The first option was to change a fire pump at the Brighton Lake Road water house storage facility. It would require adding an underground water main. Customers that were part of the system from the water house to the subdivision would have to install a pressure reducing valve in case the fire pump was turned out. The pressure without the valve would cause damage to homes and cost Brighton a “significant” amount.

The second option, which was decided to use, would include adding a high flow fire pump to the booster station and making adjustments to accommodate the pump.

Gorman-Rupp will be adding the pump before it’s delivered. The company is waiting for approval of the new design before manufacturing the station.

Officials said the high flow fire pump will only be used in the event hydrants are needed.

When asked what would happen if the pump accidentally turned on, Department of Public Works Director Marcel Goch said the risk was low. Regulatory Compliance/ Water Treatment Superintendent Josh Bradley said there would be checks and balances in the system that should prevent such an event from causing a major issue.

Goch said he would be more concerned if the pump wasn’t installed at all.

“We’re going to pull hydrants empty,” Goch said. “It could possibly collapse the water main. I’m more worried about that than having it automatically go on. That would be much more expensive and much more dangerous.”

The total cost is estimated at $1,081,420 to complete the project, according to the agenda.

The cost is within budget, due to savings from a previous roof replacement project, according to the agenda.

An estimated date for completion was not given during the meeting.