photo by: Nick Krug

Nowak Construction workers A.J. Greenwood, left, David Christie, Iradier Chavira Lopez, top, and Nacho Nava work to build up the walls around a storm drain inlet on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 at the Maple Street Pump Station in North Lawrence. Crews are wrapping up construction on the project, which is designed to alleviate some flooding in North Lawrence by pumping excess storm water to the Kansas River.

A new storm water pump station in North Lawrence that will help prevent flooding is ready for the next big rain.

The pump station, which sits at Sixth and Maple streets in North Lawrence, will help prevent localized flooding that was common in the area north of the railroad tracks. That area needed the higher drainage capacity because it is depressed in elevation, said Matt Bond, City of Lawrence storm water engineer.

“Essentially, everything north of the railroad tracks is kind of like a fish bowl,” Bond said. “On average, there’s a 12-foot difference in elevation between the south side of the railroad tracks and north side, so when everything drains down to where the current pump station is located, it physically doesn’t have anywhere to drain.”

The Maple Street pump station itself is ready to be deployed when needed, and final maintenance on the grounds and roadways surrounding the station will mark the final step of the project later this month, Bond said.

The new station will serve about 190 acres, Bond said. The station consists of four large pumps and a sump pump, and will be able to handle 100 cubic feet of water per second. That is significantly more than the previous pumps at that location, which handled only 6 cubic feet of water per second. The station’s capacity was decreased from the original design of 195 cubic feet per second, but Bond had no qualms that the new station is fully equipped to handle the drainage needs despite being downsized.

“I’m very confident whatever water we get in that particular watershed, we’ll be able to handle with no problem at all,” Bond said, noting that last week’s rain was managed by the sump pump, and not enough to require full use of the station.

The Maple Street project is set to finish within budget, with the final cost expected to about $6 million, Bond said. That cost includes the remaining grounds and roadway work, and is significantly lower than the original, higher-capacity design. That design received two bids: One bidder pegged the project at $7.5 million while the other came in at $8 million.

The water collected by the Maple Street pump station will be piped under the levee and will ultimately drain into the river, Bond said. The other pump station in North Lawrence is located on Second Street, and serves about 1,500 acres.

The remaining work around the pump station includes road resurfacing of Maple, Sixth and Lincoln streets, which Bond said sustained damage throughout the course of the project. Remaining work on the grounds directly surrounding the station includes some remaining sidewalk, fencing and landscaping, Bond said.

All work near the Maple Street pump station is scheduled to be complete by the end of August.