By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Just over a year after permits were approved to conduct the work, St. John the Baptist Parish officials are seeking a certificate of substantial completion on a raw water intake pump in Edgard.

The structure, which has been functioning at full capacity over the last six weeks, uses submersible pumps to feed raw water from the Mississippi River into the Edgard treatment plant.

Parish Engineer C.J. Savoie, who has served as the point man for the project, said the new $770,000 structure rectifies major issues that have plagued the west bank water system. Savoie explained that after the collapse of the old station in 2007, the parish had been using a pair of temporary diesel-powered pumps.

He said the temporary pumps, which were costing the parish about $5,000 a month to rent and operate, were unreliable and prone to breakdowns.

“Being on the river side of the levee, the pumps were difficult to maintain and often had to be adjusted during high river levels,” Savoie said. “This is the only source for water to the treatment plant and when the pumps would go down the lines would lose pressure.”

Prior to gaining approval to build the facility in July 2009, the parish had been battling with the Army Corps of Engineers over the right to conduct work on and near the levee.

Parish officials had acquired more than $530,000 in Louisiana Local Government Assistance grants to help pay for the project, with the remaining $240,000 coming out of the parish’s water budget. Savoie said the parish is still working to build an elevated walkway from the top of the levee to the structure to be used during high water periods.

That project was bid out and approved earlier this summer and work should begin in a couple of weeks.

“The employees don’t need the walkway to access the station, but it makes it safer than having to utilize a boat to get from the levee to the access ladder,” Savoie said.

The St. John Parish Council will vote to approve completion of the pump station at a finance committee meeting Tuesday in LaPlace starting at 6 p.m.