Constantine makes steps toward new wastewater treatment plant

Members of the Constantine Village Council this week received a draft of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System discharge permit, the first step toward construction of a new wastewater treatment plant.

Village manager Mark Honeysett said engineers had to determine by Dec. 15 if the permit needed to be modified.

During Monday’s meeting, Honeysett said the timeline for the project is not yet in place. After plans for the treatment plant are finalized, the village will begin work on the collection system to reduce the amount of groundwater that seeps into collection pipes through inflow and infiltration.

Honeysett said the infrastructure has been in place since the 1960s. Some pipes will have to be lined to eliminate cracks and degrading lines, manholes will have to be repaired or rebuilt, and it has to be determined whether sump pumps and other sources of water are plugged into the system through basement drains.