St. Joseph approves unexpected water intake cleaning

Sand, sticks, and invasive zebra mussels are messing up St. Joseph’s water intakes.

At Monday’s St. Joseph City Council meeting, members approved $132,500 to clean the city’s primary water intake from Lake Michigan, a move aimed at ensuring the continued delivery of fresh water to residents and preventing costly long-term damage to the system.

The work will be performed by Underwater Construction Corporation of Stevensville, which specializes in municipal water and power plant intakes. The company’s divers will remove invasive zebra and quagga mussels and clear significant sand buildup from the north intake’s inlet structures, connecting “Y” pipe, and a main pipeline section that extends into the lake.

City Manager Emily Hackworth explained the buildup, according to water system experts