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The Tyler City Council has approved the rehabilitation of 978 manholes as part of a project to overhaul the city’s sewer system.

Councilmembers on Wednesday agreed to a contract costing $2.52 million with T Gray Utility Co. of Cypress.

The manhole project is the first part in the latest phase of work on Tyler’s sewer system, said Tyler Water Utilities Project Engineer Tiffany Currie.

The contract approved Wednesday includes cleaning, repairing, sealing and coating manholes to stop inflow and infiltration into the sewer line.

Other projects included in the latest phase of the sewer system overhaul are traditional manhole work that likely will come back to council next month for bid approval; two specialty mainline projects for pipe bursting; and cures in pipes that are going out for bids in May.

The city entered into an agreement that went into effect in April 2017 with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to rehabilitate its sewer system.

“Rehabilitating these manholes is a requirement (of the agreement),” Currie said. “The structural enhancement from the advanced material lining used in this project will protect and reinforce the manholes from corrosion and extend their service life.”

The age of the sewer system was causing problems such as sanitary sewer overflows, which is essentially when there is a break in the system and sewage spills out.

In other business Wednesday, the City Council approved extending a 16-inch diameter waterline to the John Soules Food plant.

As part of the agreement, the council OK’d a $412,090 engineering contract with C.T. Brannon Corp. of Tyler.

Because John Soules Foods plant is outside of the city limits, extending the waterline required council approval, said Nikki Ingram, project engineer for Tyler Water Utilities. The extension will provide retail water services to the plant.

John Soules Foods is a large company and has many employees who live in Tyler and surrounding areas, Ingram said. The water demand for the plant is 12 million to 55 million gallons per month.

“The extension of a reliable water supply to John Soules Foods would both support our local economy and increase water sales,” she said. “The city of Tyler would also likely pick up customers along the route of the new pipeline, which would allow for greater development along FM 14.”

The plan is to connect to an existing 12-inch waterline at Loop 323 and North Broadway Avenue and extend it east to FM 14 and then cut north to John Soules Foods at 10150 FM 14, Ingram said. The line would be about 12,000 linear feet.

The preliminary engineering opinion of the projected cost is about $3 million or more, she said. The project would be paid for with capital improvement project funds as well as federal relief funds.

The project is estimated to begin paying for itself in about three to five years, Ingram added.

C.T. Brannon will have preliminary plans by May and have final plans and specifications ready for the city to view by February. If approved by the council, the project would go out for bids in March.

Construction of the waterline is required to be completed by the end of 2023. The contract with C.T. Brannon Corporation will include the project design, bidding, construction fee services and more.

Four employees were also recognized for their combined 90 years of service to the City of Tyler. These employees include:

• Tyler Police Department Administrative Secretary Jo Fry — 30 years of service
• Police Officer Christopher Sharp — 20 years of service
• Water Business Office Customer Service Supervisor Tiffany Dunkley — 20 years of service
• Tyler Water Utilities Skilled Laborer Arturo Martinez — 20 years of service