Why is the City doing this Project?

Replacement of aging water lines is an ongoing maintenance activity for the City.  Some of the water pipes that remain active date as far back as 1921.  Following World War II, approximately 4,000 feet of 4 inch, 6 inch and 8 inch Asbestos Cement (AC) pipe was installed in limited areas of the City.  Any repair of these AC lines, including tapping, splicing, cutting, capping or other general maintenance work must be outsourced as it can create a potential respiratory hazard should any asbestos fibers become airborne.  This poses a health and safety concern for City staff and any work performed on this material requires special handling and disposal certifications and methods.  Elimination of the liability as well as the costs associated with working on AC water mains is a priority for the City.

What will this Project include?

This project will remove or permanently abandon the AC and steel pipes in 1st Street from Miller to Wilson as well as in Chelan Ave from Marr to Lincoln.  A new water main in 8th Street between Miller and Ramona will provide service to the adjacent properties currently being served through connections to the AC pipes in the alleyways between 7th Street and 9th Street.  Replacement service lines on 1st street and on Chelan along with fire hydrants are to be included with the water line work.  Homes on 8th street will have the new service points available, but will not have their service lines re-routed from the alleys as part of this phase of the project.  Eighth Street and 1st Street will be repaved and new ADA accessible ramps will be built in those corridors.  Chelan Ave. will receive a half-street pavement overlay.  Minor storm drain work will occur as part of the ramp installations.

What to expect?

This project is set to begin in April 2024.  The working hours will be Monday-Friday 7:00am - 5:00pm. There will be some short duration closures at Miller St. and no utility outages are expected.  Construction duration will be 60 working days. Homeowner access will be maintained but on-street parking will be limited and, at times, unavailable due to excavation activities.  Emergency Services and Trash pickup will remain available.  Water outages are not anticipated as part of the construction.  Where the water lines are to be removed during construction, temporary services will be installed so as to maintain water availability to residents.  Some night work will occur at the intersections with Miller to make those final connections.  Traffic will be re-routed for short durations at those times.

Timeline

Last Updated: March 2024

More Project Details

The City was granted a low-interest (1.75% APR) loan from the Department of Health State Revolving fund to offset construction costs.  The loan has a duration period of 20 years and will be repaid through Water Utility rate revenues.  The project was designed by RH2 Engineering, Inc.  Construction will be by HCON, Inc. under the supervision of the City of Wenatchee Public Works Department.