NAHANT — The Ward Road Pump Station’s external structure has been brought down as the town made a revised decision to completely replace everything above the station’s foundation as part of a comprehensive project to upgrade the station.

In 2022, Town Meeting voted to borrow approximately $18 million from the State Revolving Fund to carry out multiple infrastructure projects. A contract was awarded to Waterline Industries of Seabrook, NH to conduct the work at Ward Road. According to Town Engineer Andrew Smith of Wright-Pierce engineering firm, The project’s original description included replacing pumping, electrical, and mechanical systems inside, waterproofing the exterior using steel, and replacing the roof all while preserving the existing structure. However, multiple structural issues discovered led to a decision to build an entirely new building. Town Administrator Tony Barletta said that it became apparent that replacing the structure entirely was the more financially sensible decision through a cost-benefit analysis.

“You’re going to get a brand new building. It’s going to last a lot longer than trying to make an old building structurally sound,” Barletta said.

Smith detailed some of the issues discovered within the old building, which was constructed in 1980, that led to the decision to tear it down. Upon removing the ceiling, it was found that a row of cinder blocks were not filled with steel reinforcing. In addition, horizontal bricks adjacent to lintels such as doors and windows were not conjoined with cement. A two-ton crane that lifts the pump out for maintenance travels along a monorail beam that is fastened to the block walls. Smith revealed that the crane was not safely supported, either.

“The contractor drilled a couple holes in the cells below the monorail beam,” Smith said. “The cell that the monorail is attached to is filled with grout, but the cells below that to carry the load down to the floor were hollow. So that two-ton hoist is essentially being held up by a hollow block wall.”

The change in strategy is estimated to increase the contract amount by $91,000. The station’s main purpose is to separate the town’s storm water from wastewater.