Pump Station To Be Replaced In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA –In a $2.2 million project aimed at improving flood mitigation in at-risk areas, the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District will be replacing a 43-year-old pump station in unincorporated Tiburon starting this spring. The facility, dubbed Cove Stormwater Pump Station, will be rebuilt and upgraded to meet the needs of the upstream communities, officials said.

The station, located in the Cove Shopping Center in Tiburon, pumps stormwater from the storm drains of nearby communities into East Creek, which then flows out to Richardson Bay, according to the county. Originally built in 1976, the facility’s current pumping capacity is 16,000 gallons of water per minute. The planned upgrades will increase the capacity of the station to handle 21,100 gallons per minute, as well as be compatible with potential future upgrades to the surrounding area’s storm drain system, planners said.

The $2.2 million contract was awarded to the Valentine Corporation of San Rafael in September 2018, officials said, adding that the funding comes from the district’s Flood Control Zone 4 budget.

The three new replacement pumps for the station will take up to seven months to be custom-built, with Valentine beginning construction of the facility in May and anticipated completion by September.

Upgrades to the pump station will include: three new pumps with improved motors; improvements to the station’s wet well to increase hydraulic efficiency;a larger trash rack that will be more efficient in keeping debris out of the pumps; an onsite emergency generator to run the station in the event of a loss of electricity; state-of-the art electronics; and a new building to house it all.

The new building will feature seismic upgrades and improved maintenance access panels. Also, an existing 36-inch diameter corrugated metal pipe that flows stormwater into the pump station will be replaced with a 48-inch diameter reinforced concrete pipe -- a change allowing for more flow capacity and more resistant to deterioration, county managers said.

Officials said improvement projects like the Cove Pump Station will not only reduce flood risk from storms, but will help prepare the community for future sea level rise impacts.

At the urging of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, the county has prioritized climate change adaptation the past few years and is addressing current and future effects of sea level rise, officials said. More information on the county’s efforts can be found online.

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PHOTO: The planned upgrades at the Cove station would improve pumping capacity from 16,000 gallons per minute to 21,100. Image via County of Marin.