Village selects familiar vendor for grinder pumps

In order to begin the process of installing sewers along residential streets for Wolverine Lake residents who voluntarily opt to hook up into the system, the Village Council voted Wednesday, Feb. 9 to approved a bid on the necessary grinder pumps.

After evaluating the two bids submitted, village officials awarded the contract to Crane/Barnes, a regular supplier in the village, in the amount of $109,598 per truckload, which equates to 40 pumps. Each homeowner who opts to tie into the sanitary sewer system will incur a cost of $2,739.95.

“Both products are virtually identical, but with our history with Crane/Barnes, council decided to stay with that company,” said village consulting engineer Mike Powell.

Grinder pumps are necessary since there is not enough slope in the area to accommodate a gravity sewer system. To mitigate costs incurred by digging a deeper hole, Powell had to modify the design to push the sewage out through a pressurized process.

“This way we don’t have to go 30 feet down,” Powell said. “Somewhere between the gravity sewer in the house and the pipe in the street the grinder pump gets the (waste) and grinds it up and it’s sent into the street by pressure.”

Only two types of chamber pumps are approved by the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office, which repairs them in the event they break down once they’re installed.

Powell conducted an analysis based on the three-year term of the contract, taking into account both a truckload of pumps and individually purchased pumps. Overall, the village will realize a substantial savings by contracting with Crane/Barnes instead of Environment One, which submitted the other bid.

Both Environment One and Crane/Barnes submitted comparable pricing. The overall truck load from Environment One was less per unit; however, Crane Barnes individual order pump prices were substantially less per unit.

Two different sized pump chambers were needed. Crane/Barnes bid the 72-inch pump at $2,777 each per truck load whereas Environmental One bid $2,760. For the 84-inch pump chamber, Crane/Barnes quoted $2,854 each per truckload compared to Environmental One’s $2,805.

Crane/Barnes’ non-truckload pricing for the 72-inch pump was $2,888 each compared to Environmental One’s, $3,703. Similarly Crane/Barnes’ quote for the 84-inch individual pump was $2,972 whereas Environmental One’s was $3,778 each. Moreover, Crane/Barnes’ product, Jett Pump, calls for a yearly price increase of 3 percent vs. Environment One’s 3.5 percent.