Williamsburg sewer repairs will cost more than $1 million

The Williamsburg City Council got some good news and some bad news in regards to its efforts to fix problems with its storm sewer system during its monthly meeting Monday night.

A new pump station and force main at Briar Creek Park, which will fix part of the problem, is expected to cost the city about $942,500.

Robert J. Sturdivant, a HDR Engineering Inc. Marketing Manager, told the council Monday that $282,750 will essentially be grant money from the state. The remainder will be in the form of a 20-year loan with a 1 percent interest rate.

The Kentucky Infrastructure Authority funded 51 projects out of 120 applications, and Williamsburg’s application ranked 44 out of 120.

"I think that will help you all solve part of the problem with your sewer system," Sturdivant said.

Earlier this year, the city signed an agreed order with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet agreeing to fix problems related to its storm sewer system over the next seven years.

On March 24, 2009, the cabinet identified four alleged violations, including: failing to report a spill, failing to properly operate and maintain a facility, contributing to pollution of waters, and degradation of surface waters.
The cabinet issued a notice of violation on April 2, 2009, and the city participated in a conference with the Cabinet’s Division of Enforcement on Oct. 7, 2009 to resolve the matter.

Williamsburg "neither admits nor denies the alleged violations described above, but agrees to the entry of this agreed order to resolve the violations alleged above," the order reads.

Mayor Roddy Harrison said the problem is infiltration of storm water getting into sewer lines and vise versa.
In some cases, there are old clay pipes that run next to storm drains, which accounts for some infiltration in addition to occasional floodwaters from the Cumberland River.

Smoke testing, which will start on Sept. 1, will identify buried manhole covers, and the major sources of water infiltration into the sewer system, said Richard E. Smith, a HDR Engineering Inc. Project Manager.

Smoke testing will cost about $60,000, about half of which will be covered through leftover funds from the US25W sewer project, Smith said.

Sturdivant added that those with illegal sewer hookups would also probably be getting smoke during the testing.
Harrison estimated that the city has about 30 miles of sewer system lines, which will have to be smoke tested.

"We’ll just have to wait and see what the smoke tests tell us, and this will tell us how bad or how good the system is," he said.

After the smoke tests are complete, city officials will conduct other testing and inspections and then send a report to the state leading to a corrective action plan to fix problem areas.

Total unfunded testing is expected to cost the city $211,500 at most, officials said noting that they hope to reduce this amount.

Harrison said replacement of the Briar Creek pump station and force main is something that the city needs to do in order to expand for further growth.

Eight-inch lines at the Briar Creek pump station will be replaced with 12-inch lines.

"Any type of development that we have has to go through that pump station, and so it has to be fixed. It is something that has to be done either way," Harrison said.

He said that the city is hoping to find grant money over the next 20 years to help pay for the cost of the Briar Creek repairs.

"We’re not the only city. Everybody in the state is kind of going through this, especially cities with older sewer systems," Harrison said.

Lexington is currently going through a similar process, which is costing millions of dollars, he added.
In other business, the city council:

¥ Approved an agreement between Williamsburg, Corbin and Whitley County pursuant to the 911 system that increases the number of members on the 911 advisory board from five to nine.

Members added to the board include the coroner, jailer, county emergency management director and judge-executive.
The board was already comprised of the Corbin Police Chief, Williamsburg Police Chief, sheriff, a Kentucky State Police representative and a representative from Kentucky Division of Emergency Management.

City Councilman Richard Foley expressed reservations about one provision in the new agreement that apparently allows board members to vote by proxy or send a proxy to the meeting. Officials weren’t sure which was the case Monday evening.
Foley said that he understands there can be problems getting a quorum for meetings, but that he finds this "peculiar on a public board."

¥ Held the first reading of an ordinance setting 2010 tax rates. The property tax rate rose from 24 to 25 cents per $100 of assessed value while the tangible tax rate, which includes motor vehicles, rose from 31.75 to 35.86 cents per $100 of assessed value. The second reading of the ordinance will be held next month.