CSO Project

Sewers built in Lansing before 1953 use a single pipe to transport raw sanitary sewage and stormwater. The city's wastewater treatment plant can accept and treat sanitary sewage, however, due to current conditions, untreated sewage from combined sewers overflows into the river during heavy rainfall. Although some neighborhoods have separated sewers, much of Lansing's system still requires upgrading.Which has lead to the Combined Sewer Overlfows Separation Project.

Construction Observer Newsletter

The Construction Observer will regularly update you on Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) construction and progress. This e-letter will provide details of schedules and progress from now until the construction barrels come down in November.

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Click Here for the CSO Program Post-Construction Satisfaction Survey (pdf)

Lowest Cost Drives Decision on Best Solution

Our outdated sewer system no longer meets today's demands. (Parts of the system are more than a century old)
Environmental regulations require Lansing and 30 other municipalities in Michigan to develop plans to eliminate sewage discharges into the rivers.
After studying many options, Lansing has chosen the most cost-effective option of separating the combined sewers. Regardless of the funding source, the river must be protected.

Separate stormwater and sewage; water quality improves

Lansing's Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control Project involves separating 203 miles of combined sewer pipes by constructing a second parallel pipe so raw sewage and stormwater are carried separately. The raw sewage (human waste) will only go to the city's wastewater treatment plant and the stormwater will be discharged directly to the rivers.
The separated system also reduces basement and street flooding problems.
Begun in 1992, the project will take 30 years to complete.
Lansing's timely response has prevented paying millions of dollars of fines and facing citations that many other cities have faced.

Sanitary sewer fees fund project

The CSO project will cost $176 million, based on 1992 dollars.
To disperse cost, Lansing successfully negotiated a 30-year implementation schedule--the longest period allowed by the State of Michigan.