St. Croix plans inland move for sewage pump station after decades of failures

ST. CROIX. Officials are moving forward with plans to relocate the LBJ Pump Station away from the shoreline to a 1.67-acre parcel at Estate Penitentiary, roughly 600 meters from its current position, to address chronic equipment failures that have repeatedly sent raw sewage into Christiansted.

The new facility would sit more than 100 meters from the water's edge, compared with the existing station's precarious placement less than 20 meters away. The inland location also falls entirely outside Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zones, eliminating a major structural vulnerability.

During a public hearing on Tuesday before the St. Croix Committee of the Coastal Zone Management Commission, VIWMA Chief Engineer Alex Bruney outlined a redesigned infrastructure with redundant systems. The station would contain two separate wet wells, each with three 250-horsepower pumps, enabling staff to service one well while the other continues pumping.

The facility would also feature standby power generators, debris screens, spare parts storage, dual pipelines for operational backup, a cistern, water treatment systems, a permanently mounted crane for pump servicing, and odor control equipment.

"What we have done is designed a facility that would basically prevent all the elements, all the down times that we have experienced with the old station," Bruney told commissioners.

The LBJ station has created public health crises for years. In October 2024, a pump failure triggered raw sewage spills near Watergut and King Cross streets and a health advisory. In August 2026, a ruptured force main caused widespread overflows across Christiansted and nearby areas. The authority restored service on August 30 following emergency repairs, though advisories remained active.

The proposed site occupies land where the Ralph de Chabert housing community once stood before its demolition in 2013. Environmental consultants told the commission that prior development and urban soil disturbance mean the location carries minimal environmental risk and poses no archaeological concerns.

Some commissioners questioned whether the facility should be pushed even farther inland to guard against future shoreline erosion. Commissioner Masserae Webster asked whether greater distance from the coast might be warranted. Bruney responded that relocating further would create steep engineering obstacles, as the system requires specific elevations to connect with existing wastewater infrastructure. "If we move it further inland, then that doesn't go well with elevations coming into the system," he explained.

Coastal Zone Management Director Marlon Hibbert noted that construction would employ a "one-dig approach," coordinating all underground work with other infrastructure projects run by the Office of Disaster Recovery to minimize repeated excavation. Committee Chair Kai Nielsen signaled support for expediting the review process. VIWMA committed to submitting additional infrastructure and demolition plans before the committee's next decision meeting.