Water System Expansion
Village of Brokaw, Wisconsin
By 2000, the village of Brokaw was faced with declining population and growth constraints. The combination of the Wisconsin River and surrounding granite bluffs prohibited village expansion from their location in the valley. Brokaw looked to the other side of the river as an area to expand and maintain a stable and growing population which required the extension of potable water and sanitary utilities to the proposed developments.
Project Specifics:
As part of a long term on-going consulting engineering relationship with Brokaw, Foth provided design and construction services for over two miles of new water main and sanitary sewer extension to the new development area that incorporated a business park and residential development. Due to a 200-foot higher elevation on the west side of the river, the project included a new municipal 500 GPM water booster pump station along with a 200,000 gallon elevated water tank. Extension of utilities was funded through an extraordinary $1,000,000 federal grant award. The award of the grant forced Foth to fast-track the design and construction in order to meet the village’s timetable for services to the developments.
Challenges:
- A complex permitting process provided significant challenges for the design and construction phases and required critical coordination and cooperation with various divisions of the Wisconsin DNR and DOT.
- Water main extension to the new development area involved a complex river-crossing that carried the infrastructure over the 600-foot wide Wisconsin River attached to a county bridge while also crossing under USH 51/39, and involved excavations in the granite formations that exist in portions of the project.
Benefits:
- The village was able to secure significant federal through new developments without impacting the existing village residents.
- Through new and significantly improved water and sewer utilities servicing the west side expansion, the village is able to attract new industry and promote population growth.
