Now that Athens City Council has approved almost $1 million in expenses, city officials are preparing to lay the pipe.
The city of Athens is close to sealing a deal with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to replace more than 8,000 lineal feet of drinking-water pipes that are more than 60 years old.
The project would include replacing pipes along seven city streets, including Ransom Road, McGuffy Lane, Harris Road, Joneswood Drive, Terrace, Riverview Drive and Union Street between Shafer and High streets, said Jessica Adine, project manager from the Department of Engineering and Public Works.
“This is where we’ve seen the most breaks over the past couple of years,” Adine said. “That’s why we nominated them for our project.”
The pipes that would be replaced are dilapidated water lines within Athens, said Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, at the City Council meeting April 16.
“We’re dealing with 1950s-era cast-iron pipes,” he said.
The old pipes would be replaced with ductile-iron pipes, which are expected to reduce the number of breaks and increase water flow, Adine said.
Because of the large number of breaks in the water lines, repairs can be costly with overtime and material costs, said Andy Stone, director of Engineering and Public Works, during the annual street tour last month.
By replacing the pipes, repair costs will decrease and the new water lines should pay for themselves in the coming decades, Stone said.
The project is estimated to cost about $981,000, and the city would be able to pay for the project through a low-interest loan from the Ohio EPA, Adine said.
“That’s the reason why we pursued this,” she said. “Though some of the project would be paid for by the city’s water fund, most of the construction will be covered through the loan.”
But the city has yet to receive the money for the project because a bid has yet to be accepted from a private contractor, said Erin Strouse, spokeswoman for the Ohio EPA.
“We have not received their application, but they are on the list to get the loan,” she said. “Once we get their application with the accepted bid, we can finish processing.”
The interest rate is estimated to be 2.6 percent, but the exact rate can’t be calculated until the city accepts a bid, Strouse said.
Though Council unanimously gave Service-Safety Director Paula Horan-Moseley the go-ahead to begin the bidding process on April 16, public bidding for the project won’t start until May 18.
Horan-Moseley was unavailable for comment.
Once a bid is accepted, the project would begin about June 18 and be completed within 120 days.
The city won’t know how much was spent on the project until after all the pipes are installed and the orange construction cones are packed up.
“We can (only) give an estimate,” Adine said. “We won’t know how much it cost us until the project is totally finished, but we are expecting to come in somewhat under budget.”
In addition to the drinking-water pipe project, Athens also is discussing updating the waste-water pipes, Strouse said.
“We’re still working with the city on the waste-water project,” she said. “(Athens) is estimated to receive a $12 million estimate loan for that project in January 2013.”
Though a majority of the money would be borrowed, the improvements to the drinking-water pipes won’t stretch the city’s budget, Council President Jim Sands said.
“This money is repaid, but there’s very low interest and it’s available over a long period of time,” he said. “It’s something that we can afford to do right now.”
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