City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the solicitation of proposals for (1) final
design of the new Bankfield Sewer Pump Station located at 5722 Bankfield Avenue;
(2) final design of Diversion Sewer Pipes to abandon the Bristol, Fox Hills, Mesmer,
and Overland Sewer Pump Stations; and (3) a feasibility study regarding the
conversion of the Mesmer Sewer Pump Station to storm water quality purposes.
BACKGROUND:
The Public Works Department is responsible for the maintenance of the City owned
sewer pump stations. There are currently seven (7) sewer pump stations at the
following locations:
1 Braddock Station
11285 Braddock Drive
Reconstructed in 2011
2 Fox Hills Station
5900 Sepulveda Boulevard
Constructed in 1976
3 Bristol Station
6399 Bristol Parkway
Constructed in 1968
Meeting Date: 04/21/2014 Item Number: C-5
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Authorize Solicitation of Proposals for (1) Final
Design of the New Bankfield Sewer Pump Station Located at 5722 Bankfield
Avenue; (2) Final Design of Diversion Sewer Pipes to Abandon the Bristol, Fox
Hills, Mesmer, and Overland Sewer Pump Stations; and (3) a Feasibility Study
Regarding the Conversion of the Mesmer Sewer Pump Station to Storm Water
Quality Purposes.
Contact Person/Dept.: Mate Gaspar/PW Phone Number: 310-253-5602
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: ________________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Agenda and Meetings – City Council (04/16/14)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (04/09/14)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (04/15/14)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by M. Noller) (04/15/14)
City Manager Approval:
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
4 Jasmine Station
4496 Jasmine Avenue
Reconstructed in 1996
5 Businessman Park Station
8620 Hayden Place
6 Mesmer Station
5586 Mesmer Avenue
Reconstructed in 1993
7 Overland Station
5300 Overland Avenue
Constructed in 1972
These sewer pump stations are necessary in order to properly pump the City’s
sewage flow to the City of Los Angeles’ transmission lines which, in turn, carry the
sewage to the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant. These pump stations are
maintained by the Public Works Department Maintenance Operations Division. The
electrical components, sewer pumps, wet wells, and dry wells need to be monitored
and maintained in order for them to properly function.
In 2008, the City Council authorized a study to be undertaken to determine if the
seven sewer pump stations could be consolidated to fewer pump stations. It was
determined that it is possible to close four sewer pump stations and divert them to a
new sewer pump station to be located within the area that is southeast and
immediately adjacent to the 405 and 90 freeways.
The proposed new pump station, in conjunction with new pipelines to divert sewage
from the Bristol, Fox Hills, Mesmer, and Overland pump stations, will allow the City
to consolidate the flow of the four pump stations into one new, modern, and more
energy efficient station resulting in pumping cost savings and decreased need for
maintenance. The existing stations proposed to be consolidated are older and, if not
replaced, will require major reconstruction in the future including installation of a
second (redundant) force main. The proposed Bankfield Pump Station will be state
of the art and will eliminate many of the problems maintenance staff has
experienced in operating the existing stations. The consolidation of the flow also
has other benefits including making a future connection to the Los Angeles County
Sanitation District for a portion of Culver City’s sewage flow feasible. This may
prove cost effective if the Sanitation District sewage treatment rates become
considerably less than the rates charged by the City of Los Angeles at its Hyperion
Sewage Treatment Plant.
In October 2012, the City Council approved the purchase of a property at 5718-5722
Bankfield Avenue as the location of the new pump station. In addition, the property,
which is larger than needed for the pump station only, will provide valuable and City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
much needed space for storage of public works equipment including empty
container storage for the Sanitation Division.
This year’s approved work plan includes the preparation of request for proposals for
the final designs of a new sewer pump station and the diversion pipes.
DISCUSSION:
Staff has prepared a request for proposal for the new Bankfield Pump Station. This
proposed station will be designed to pump about 1.3 million gallons of flow a day. It
will contain three submersible energy efficient pumps in a large underground well.
Two force mains will be designed (one redundant) to convey the flow to the City of
Los Angeles. The proposed pump station will include a building that will house the
control panels and instruments to run the station. An emergency bypass system will
be designed as part of the project in case of catastrophic failure of the station. The
request for proposal requires that the consultant review the feasibility of including
solar panels to supplement the electricity required for the new station. Also the
station will include an emergency SCADA and flow monitoring systems. This station
will be designed similarly to the recently reconstructed Braddock Pump Station.
Staff prepared a request for proposal for the design of new diversion pipes from the
Bristol, Fox Hills, Mesmer, and Overland sewer pump stations. The following is a
brief summary of the diversion from each pump station:
The Bristol Pump Station is located at 6399 Bristol Parkway immediately adjacent to
the County of Los Angeles maintained Centinela storm drain channel. This pump
station serves the Courtyard Marriot and Four Points Sheraton hotels. The diversion
pipe will be aligned either on or adjacent to the Centinela Channel and then along
the westerly sidewalk of Sepulveda Boulevard to Bankfield Avenue and then to the
new Bankfield Pump Station site. The diversion pipe may require obtaining private
property easements or permits from the County of Los Angeles. Also, a permit will
be required from the City of Los Angeles because portions of Sepulveda Boulevard
and Bankfield Avenue are within the City of Los Angeles.
The Fox Hills Pump Station is located in Westfield Culver City’s parking lot near the
Macy’s Department Store building. The diversion pipes will be constructed along the
new Center’s entrance and then be directionally bored under Sepulveda Boulevard
and then through private property. Private property easements will be required from
the property owners in order to construct the diversion pipes.
The Mesmer Pump Station is located to the west of the 405 freeway and Centinela
Channel and to the south of the 90 freeway. The pipelines that flow to Mesmer City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Pump Station are underneath the freeway decks and become siphons under the
Centinela Channel. The closure of this station will be a tremendous benefit as
having pipelines cross under these major freeways and storm drain channel is not
desirable. The proposed diversion pipes will intercept the flows before the freeways
and be aligned along Slauson Avenue, then across Jefferson Boulevard, then along
Selmarine Drive, and then to the new Bankfield Pump Station site. A small portion
of the sewer flow to the Mesmer Pump Station comes from the west side of the 405
freeway including flow from two Culver City residences, the Double Tree Hotel, an
office complex, and a large City of Los Angeles business property. These flows will
have to be diverted to an existing City of Los Angeles sewer pump station located at
the corner of Inglewood Avenue and Juniette Street. The City of Los Angeles has
been contacted and is agreeable to this.
The Mesmer Pump Station will be decommissioned upon completion of the new
Bankfield Pump Station and sewer main diversions. The Mesmer Pump Station and
associated land will then be available for other purposes. The City is participating
with all other agencies in the Ballona Creek Watershed to develop plans to meet
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) regulations. Due to bacteria exceedances in
Ballona Creek during dry weather, all agencies in the watershed were required to
submit Time Schedule Order (TSO) requests to the Los Angeles Regional Water
Quality Control Board (LARWQCB) in April 2013. The TSO indicates the cities’
commitment to complete certain efforts to meet dry-weather bacteria water quality
standards. Centinela Creek has been identified as a significant contributor of
bacteria to Ballona Creek. As part of the TSO, Culver City committed to complete a
feasibility study regarding the conversion of the Mesmer Pump Station to pump dry-
weather flows from Centinela Creek to the sanitary sewer for treatment. The
feasibility study is included in the scope of work along with the Bankfield Pump
Station design.
The Overland Pump Station is located adjacent to Overland Avenue and south of
Jefferson Boulevard. The diversion pipes will be constructed mostly beneath
Overland Avenue with a small portion constructed beneath Jefferson Boulevard.
There are also abandoned pipes in Overland Avenue, Jefferson Boulevard, and
Cota Street that have been video inspected, are still in good condition, and can be
reused as diversion pipelines. The abandoned sewer pipes once served the former
MGM lots which are the present day Raintree, Tara Hills, Lakeside Villas, and
Lakeside Village communities.
If the City Council approves the release of the request for proposals, staff will send
them to consultant engineering firms that are known to have the qualifications to
design new sewer pump stations and sewer pipelines. The ranking of the proposals
will be based on qualifications and the amount of the fee. It is expected that the City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
consideration for approval of professional services agreements with the engineering
firms for these design projects will occur in June or July 2014.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There are sufficient funds available in the Mesmer/Overland Sewer Pump Diversion
Project and Fox Hills Sewer Pump Station Project, PZ-946 and PZ-874 capital
improvement project budgets to fund the consultant costs and potential construction
costs for the work proposed.
ATTACHMENT (Available Online or in the Public Works Department):
The RFP’s are available at the following link:
http://www.culvercity.org/en/Government/PublicWorks/CouncilItems.aspx
MOTIONS:
That the City Council:
Authorize the solicitation of proposals for (a) final design of the new Bankfield
Sewer Pump Station located at 5722 Bankfield Avenue; (b) final design of
Diversion Sewer Pipes to abandon the Bristol, Fox Hills, Mesmer, and Overland
Sewer Pump Stations; and (c) a feasibility study regarding the conversion of the
Mesmer Sewer Pump Station to storm water quality purposes.