Valdosta Daily Times

Local News

August 30, 2012

City delivers water to another island

Development of annexed areas ‘halfway done’

VALDOSTA — The City of Valdosta will begin development of water and sewer infrastructure to “Island 69C2” near the end of September, after the City Council approved a bid contract at a regular meeting last Thursday. The island includes residences along Blitch, Dogwood, Moss, Melbor and Magnolia streets.

The approved bid of $886,300 came in $13,000 below the Engineering Department estimate, and will be funded from the sixth cycle of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).

The project is part of a larger effort to provide all 86 formerly unincorporated islands within the city limits with water and sewer infrastructure. The project is set to be completed near the end of 2013, said City Manager Larry Hanson.

In 2006, the city attempted to annex 92 of the islands formerly within Lowndes County’s jurisdiction, but following litigation settled on 86, Hanson said.

So far, infrastructure has been developed for about half of those properties, the city manager said. The city focused on delivering service first to those islands in which at least 50 percent of residents requested city water and sewer service.

The vote reflected the majority of residents in the remaining areas  were content to continue using private wells and septic tanks, Hanson said, so the city focused on developing those who requested the service first.

“Those islands have pretty much been completed,” Hanson said. “The others were to be scheduled as late as possible, but the goal of completion was the end of 2013.”

Progress on retrofitting the established neighborhoods with water and sewer lines is more difficult and expensive than developing “virgin land,” Hanson said. Making headway has been slow going.

“It’s very tedious work,” Hanson said. “We’re retrofitting infrastructure to properties 20, 30, sometimes 40 years old. One has to guess or find in the field where certain infrastructure was built; things that were marked on a map were not actually in the field.”

Hurricane season weather delays could further extend the timeline of the project, Assistant Director of Utilities Jason Scarpate said. Between that and the search for existing infrastructure, Scarpate worries the 2013 deadline will be difficult to achieve, in spite of the city’s attempt to begin construction on the rest of the projects by the end of 2012.

“It’s going to be tough,” Scarpate said. “We’re making a big push and trying to get everything taken care of by the end of the year.”

Once an individual infrastructure project has begun, tropical storms can “make the environment difficult to work in,” Scarpate said, and that during an infrastructure retro-fit such as this, “there could be anything underground.”

“You could have utilities that are incorrectly located that would cause us to go back and redesign something,” Scarpate said.

Funding and finding contractors for the project, however, have not been an issue so far, Scarpate said. Contractors from the South Georgia area as well as in Atlanta and across state lines have shown great interest in the project.

While the city taps into SPLOST VI funds for the 69C2 project, development of most of the other projects has been funded with both SPLOST and loans granted by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority at an average of 3 percent interest rate, Hanson said. SPLOST funds can be used to pay this debt.

When the project began, the city estimated all infrastructure improvements would cost more than $15 million, but current estimates are nearer to $20 million in both SPLOST and GEFA loan expenditures, Hanson said.

All municipalities in the State of Georgia are required to offer water and sewer service to all residents within the city limits, according to Georgia annexation law, but requirements specify that infrastructure can be added “within a reasonable time,” Hanson said.

Water infrastructure helps city fire departments address fire emergencies; fire hydrants are included on the bill. In the meantime, residents in areas still waiting for the infrastructure improvements must rely on the service of tanker trucks to protect their homes.

“(Valdosta firefighters) have a city map. They know where the islands are, and they have prepared themselves for these incidents,” Hanson said. “We are well-prepared.”

Valdosta Fire Chief J.D. Rice agrees. Since the properties were annexed, the only structure that was completely lost to fire was a utility shed, Rice said, which he blames on volatile compounds inside the structure that exploded during the fire.

“We were able to save the homeowner’s residence, which was remarkable,” Rice said. “The only thing we lost was the siding, which was scorched.”

The city maintains a Class 2 Insurance Service Office rating on a scale of one to 10. To achieve that rating, fire services must demonstrate the ability to pump 250 gallons per minute for two hours, uninterrupted, in any given location, Rice said.

Once infrastructure is established to the remaining islands, residents will have the choice to tie into the water and sewer system, said Engineering Project Manager Jim Martinez. But once residents are connected, they will not have the option to disconnect.

“Once they’re tied on, they’re tied on,” Martinez said. “They can continue to use the well for irrigation, but those individuals would need to install a backflow preventer.”

A backflow preventer prevents the well water from entering the city water system and affecting water quality. The devices, as well as the costs incurred to hire plumbing professionals and to purchase water meters are the responsibility of the connecting resident, Martinez said.

The development of infrastructure involves either cutting straight down through roads and property to lay down the line or boring through the ground and under streets. More often, the city uses the first technique, Martinez said.

Most of the work’s cost is in the restoration of the roads and property once the infrastructure is installed, according to Martinez.

There are currently six islands under design, one with a complete design, and two out for bid, for a total of nine islands to complete the entire infrastructure project, Martinez said.

The islands are grouped together in many cases. The island in the Cherry Creek area contained 21 individual islands.

Each project can take between 90 and 180 days to complete, said Martinez. The 69C2 project is expected to take 150 days.

For more on this story and other local news, subscribe to The Valdosta Daily Times e-Edition, or our print edition

Text Only
Local News
  • Picture 2.png Lowndes County facing budget woes

    In a brief meeting Tuesday evening, Lowndes County Commissioners and a small audience reviewed a power point presentation compiled by Finance director Stephanie Black, which shows a rather bleak picture for this fiscal year.

    June 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • Jteenth01.JPG Celebrating Juneteenth

    Some find it hard to look US slavery in its eyes when glancing back on history, but the Juneteeth committee reminded Valdostans how a people persevered through the barbaric institution as they held the city's 21st annual Juneteenth celebration at Mathis City Auditorium on Tuesday evening.

    June 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • N1306P28002C.jpg Child drowns in family pool

    Emergency workers raced a two-year-old child to South Georgia Medical Center from a Pearl Davis Road residence Monday evening in response to a reported drowning, but the toddler did not respond to resuscitation efforts, according to reports from the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office.

    June 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • Easter Seals.jpg Easter Seals benefit Thursday

    Easter Seals Southern Georgia will be hosting “Sweet Charity: Desserts for a Cause” Thursday at Mathis Auditorium. The event will be from 7 to 9 p.m. and will include several local restaurants serving dessert as well as a silent auction.

    June 18, 2013 1 Photo

  • police-lights-backgrounds-for-powerpoint.jpg Dollar General robbed at gunpoint

    A customer and two employees were unharmed during a Sunday evening robbery as two masked men demanded cash from registers and the business’ safe as the Dollar General on Bemiss Road prepared to close at around 11:30 p.m., according to reports from the Valdosta Police Department.

    June 18, 2013 1 Photo

  • overpass1 copy.jpg Overpass work causes detours

    All vehicles which are not making a delivery in the immediate vicinity of the new overpass will have to find alternate routes immediately.

    June 18, 2013 1 Photo

  • AR - Merita W. 02 copy.jpg Crossing guard keeping kids safe

    Meet Merita Williams, crossing guard.

    June 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • 120623_juneteenth1 copy.jpg Juneteenth’s coming

    Held in just as high a regard as the celebration of our country’s independence to many, the county’s annual Juneteenth dinner returns this Tuesday at 7 p.m. for its 21st year and will offer citizens of all races with a central point to celebrate human rights.

    June 17, 2013 1 Photo

  • preacherbook1 copy.jpg A soldier called preacher

    In Vietnam, Wesley Harrell spread the Lord’s word among his fellow soldiers. He spoke of God often though few seemed to listen until they encountered war’s sudden death.

    June 16, 2013 1 Photo

  • 130615 100 Black men 01 copy.JPG History on the move

    In the right hands, a divided house can again mount a sound foundation and settle into a new era, as proved on Saturday when the 100 Black Men of Valdosta unveiled a transplanted house that’ll likely serve as their headquarters at its Martin Luther King Jr. Drive location.

    June 16, 2013 1 Photo

Top News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Poll

Should the government have access to your phone, emails?

Yes, always.
No, never.
Only in times of national emergency.
     View Results