Capital Improvement Projects


CIP 749 is underway. It’s a time for patience and careful driving as the work 
proceeds. 

Kip Patterson writes: 

We have a lot of road work this week: 

The Canyon/Glenmont storm water improvement project is working on Canyon at the top of the hill above Overbrook.  Expect Canyon to be impassable from Overbrook up to Glenmont place and South Canyon east towards Sharon.  The contractor works four, ten-hour days from Monday through Thursday, and leaves all the roads open at night,  As they get into more challenging areas there may be some overnight closures. 

Crews will be paving Karl Road starting Tuesday (8/26) between Morse Road and 
S.R 161. There will be various lane restrictions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily 
until mid-September, weather permitting. (City of Columbus) 

Westbound Cooke Road will close on Tuesday (8/26) just west of Maize Road. This 
is a 24-hour-a-day closure that will be in effect until mid-September, weather 
permitting. Traffic will be detoured using Maize Road, Morse Road and I-71. 
Crews will be working on utilities. (Fishel Co.)

Mark Timbrook, City of Columbus Sewer Systems Engineer for this project, writes:
The contractor marked each tree with a white ‘ X ‘ this morning (August 4).  We noted that several trees appeared diseased.  One tree that we would like to take another look at with Jack Low [Park and Recreation forester] is the 22″ Sycamore in the grassed triangle at Glenmont Place and Canyon Drive North.  We will consider saving this tree unless Jack Low views it as a risk.  
Location of these trees:
601 Yaronia (easement area, on road edge) 2
Glenmont Place and Canyon Drive (triangular easement plot) 1  MAY NOT NEED TO BE REMOVED
354 Canyon Drive N (easement area, on road edge) 2
640 Yaronia Drive S, at intersection of Yaronia Drive South and Yaronia Drive N (the ash tree between the road and no outlet signs, on road edge) 1
599 Glenmont easement, 3  
579 Glenmont (easement) 2  
Jackie Fields, contractor for this work, writes: 
Hello, we will begin passing out flyers within the community today to inform everyone of our mobilization and tentative start date of August 11 (digging etc. may be a day or two later). The flyer says:
This letter is to inform you that construction on the new storm water upgrades for Glenmont and Canyon will begin August 11. Fields Excavating , Inc. will be the prime contractor for this project. You have a very nice neighborhood and community and Fields will make every attempt to keep it that way. We will work this project as quickly and with as minimal inconveniences to the residents as possible. Traffic control will be provided as needed and in order to maintain resident’s access to their homes. We appreciate your patience in this matter, If there are any special access requirements or special needs please contact Jeff Campbell (superintendent on site) or Jackie Fields at 740-532-1780 ext. 206. this project will be complete early 2009.

City Of Columbus Department of Public Utilities

Mayor Michael B. Coleman Tatyana Arsh, P.E., Director
For immediate release
Contact: Rick Tilton, 645-6622

July 18, 2008

Mayor, City Council Welcome Ohio EPA Draft Approval of $2.5 Billion Plan to Reduce Sewage Overflows—Need To Keep Sewer Rates Affordable Will Remain Priority

(Columbus) Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council are pleased the Ohio Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has given draft approval to the City’s $2.5 billion, Wet Weather
Management Plan (WWMP). The plan will dramatically reduce sewer overflows and basement
backups during heavy rains and result in cleaner local waterways. The WWMP, submitted to Ohio
EPA July 1, 2005, proposed a 40-year schedule and will bring the City into compliance with two
consent orders signed with the State of Ohio in 2002 and 2004. Ohio EPA will accept public
comment on the plan through August 25.

“We have taken a giant step forward thanks to a lot of long, hard work with our partners at
the Ohio EPA, but there is still much work to do. This means drier basements and a
healthier, greener Columbus for families,” said Mayor Coleman. “But with a project this
expensive we must stay vigilant and do everything we can to keep sewer and water rates
affordable.”

To date, the City has invested nearly $1 billion in consent order projects, including a $106 million
new Headworks facility at the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Plant, other upgrades at the plant,
the Big Walnut Augmentation/Rickenbacker Interceptor and neighborhood sewer projects that will
help reduce overflows and basement backups. Additional improvements to the Southerly and
Jackson Pike wastewater treatment plants are to be completed by 2010 as required. These
projects are part of the WWMP Interim Plan, which Ohio EPA approved in March 2008.

“Columbus’ investment in our sanitary sewer system will place us at the forefront ofwastewater treatment and environmental stewardship,” said Andrew J. Ginther, chair ofCity Council’s Public Utilities Committee. “The plan will eliminate over 80 percent ofoverflow instances by 2015, reduce basement back-ups and improve the quality of ourstreams and rivers for generations to come.”

Ohio EPA draft approval of the WWMP covers projects in the plan except for the timetable for
the final two phases of two large diameter underground tunnels that will run along the
Olentangy River and Alum Creek. Ohio EPA’s draft approval will require the City to submit a
schedule for completion of the two large tunnels, as well as an affordability analysis and rate
study by July 1, 2016, which will build on an extensive affordability analysis the City originally
submitted with the WWMP in 2005.

“We are committed to this plan and working with our partners at the Ohio EPA to makesure it is done in a fiscally and environmentally responsible way to better serve ourratepayers while doing all we can to keep rates affordable,” said Department of PublicUtilities Director Tatyana Arsh.

Since 2006, the City’s Low Income Discount Program has provided a 15 percent discount to
ratepayers living in poverty who meet the program’s qualifications. A separate discount,
generally in the range of 10 percent, is also available to eligible senior citizens 60 years of age
and older. Both discounts’ requirements are based on federal poverty guidelines.
The WWMP will reduce annual sewer overflows from the current 1.65 billion gallons to 250
million gallons by 2025, and to about 100 million gallons by the WWMP’s completion.
The WWMP and Ohio EPA’s comments on the WWMP are available online at http://
www.epa.state.oh.us./dsw/cso/columbus ltcp.html
or may be reviewed at Ohio EPA’s Central
District Office, Lazarus Government Center, 50 West Town Street, by first calling (614) 728-
3778 to make an appointment. The WWMP also is available for viewing at the Columbus
Department of Public Utilities’ Business Office, 910 Dublin Road.

State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER
P.O. Box 1049,
50 W. Town St., Suite 700
Columbus, OH 43216-1049
Tele: (614) 644-2160
Fax: (614) 644-2737

NEWS RELEASE EPA 0402 (rev. 10/96)

FOR
RELEASE: July
18, 2008
CONTACT:
Erin Strouse, (614) 644-2160

Ohio EPA Proposes Approval of Columbus’ $2.5 Billion Planto Reduce Sewage Overflows

Ohio EPA is seeking comments
on its draft approval of the city of Columbus’ wet
weather management plan. When the plan is implemented, there will be a dramatic decrease in
sewer overflows and basement backups that occur in the city of Columbus service area after
rains and snowmelt. The total cost for the projects in the wet weather management plan is $2.5
billion (2005 dollars).

Columbus submitted its wet weather management plan to Ohio EPA in 2005 in
accordance with two separate consent orders issued by the Franklin County Court of Common
Pleas in 2002 and 2004. The orders require Columbus to develop and implement a
comprehensive plan to control overflows from the sewer system.

The draft approval by Ohio EPA approves the projects in the wet weather management
plan. The schedule for implementing these projects is also approved with the exception of the
schedule for completing the final two phases of the Olentangy and Alum Creek relief tunnels.
The draft approval requires Columbus to submit an affordability analysis and rate study no later
than July 1, 2016, with an accelerated schedule to complete the construction of those tunnels.
In the 2004 consent order, Columbus also was required to propose interim projects that
could significantly reduce the volume of overflow by 2010. Ohio EPA approved the interim plan
in March 2008. The interim plan proposed several major projects to meet this requirement.
Construction of these projects is currently underway and is expected to reduce sewage
discharges by approximately 540 million gallons in a typical year by 2010. The total cost for
these interim projects is $729 million.

The Columbus sewer system currently discharges approximately 1.65 billion gallons of
sewer overflow in a typical year. By year 2025, these overflows will be reduced to a total of
approximately 250 million gallons. Once all projects are completed, it is estimated that
remaining overflows from the system will be reduced to approximately 100 million gallons per
year on average. This remaining overflow volume will not cause a violation of the water quality
standards that protect human health and aquatic life. This is primarily due to the relatively short
duration of the discharge (approximately 15 hours total in an average year) and that the
discharge will be to the Scioto River during high river flows, allowing significant dilution of the
remaining overflow volume. Columbus has projected a cost of over $350 million to eliminate the
remaining overflow.

more…

Columbus Wet Weather Plan
July 18, 2008
2-2-2-2

As a condition of approval of the wet weather management plan, Ohio EPA will require
Columbus to periodically re-evaluate whether the remaining overflows can be further minimized
or eliminated and Ohio EPA reserves the right to require additional controls.
Ohio EPA is also proposing to modify the wastewater discharge permits for Columbus’
Jackson Pike and Southerly wastewater treatment plants. This proposal would require that
Columbus implement the approved wet weather management plan. The plan would be
consistent with the conditions outlined in the Ohio EPA draft approval.

The draft approval letter, proposed modifications to the city’s wastewater discharge permits and fact sheet are available at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/cso/columbus_ltcp.html or may be reviewed at Ohio EPA’s Central District Office, Lazarus Government Center, 50 W. Town St., Columbus, by first calling (614) 728-3778 to make an appointment.

Written comments and requests for a public hearing will be accepted through the close
of business on August 25, 2008. Comments and requests should be addressed to Ohio EPA,
Division of Surface Water, Permits Processing Unit, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-
1049, and Ohio EPA, Central District Office, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43216-1049.

Background on Sewer Overflow Problems

The Columbus wet weather management plan addresses overflows from the separatelysewered areas of the city as well as overflows from the combined sewer system. Many cities inOhio and across the nation
are being required to address combined and sanitary seweroverflows. Sewage overflows are a major water pollution concern and can have adverse effectson human health.Separate sewer systems are designed to
convey the sewage in a completely separate pipe fromthe home or business directly to the wastewater treatment plant. If properly designed andoperated, they should not overflow during rain events. However,
in the Columbus system, thereare locations where connections of storm water and leaking sewers allow excess rain water intothe sewer. This causes overflows from the sewer system.Combined sewers were built to collect sanitary and industrial wastewater, as well as stormwater runoff, and transport this combined wastewater to treatment facilities where it can betreated and discharged to a nearby river or stream.
During larger wet weather events, thevolume of storm water entering the combined sewer system may exceed the capacity of thecombined sewers or the treatment plant. When this happens, combined sewers aredesigned to allow a portion of the untreated combined wastewater to overflow into the nearest ditch, stream,river or lake.For additional information regarding sewer overflows, how they impact the environment,
why they are a concern, where they are located in Ohio and what is being done to address their impact, log on to: http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/cso/csoindex.html

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/

NEIGHBOR QUESTION:
Susan, 

Who can I contact about this [Columbia Gas line and meter replacement] work? We will not be there to open our house for the meter removal but I can arrange for some one to help with this. Do you know where they plan to put the meters outside? At the road or hang them on our house?

I am not pleased that I am not there to make suggestions about the placement as I have learned over the years that this kind of decision is often made by some one who is not nearly as concerned about how it will look as the property owner. I wonder if we have the option of paying for a remote meter reading device instead of moving the meter…..

We will appreciate any info you can share.

RESPONSE FROM KIP PATTERSON, LIAISON FOR ADENA BROOK COMMUNITY:

The replacement of the meter at your house will be in conjunction with a replacement of the trunk in the street, and unlike the recent repair should not involve reusing the old pipe from the main to your house.  I went through this several years ago and I found them very willing to work with me on meter location.  I put it behind a shrub and they made no fuss about hand digging that hole.  The one at the main (street) will be dug by a back hoe, and the line to the house will be run underground using a directional boring machine, leaving no impact on your yard. 

 I don’t know where your house is on Yaronia, and the Auditor’s maps are down right now, but it looks like the main will be in the street so you only have the one hole in the yard.

 They will need access to the house.  There is no possibility of leaving the meter in the basement.  Depending upon the layout, you may be able to put it on the side.  It will be mounted to the house, and you can paint it.

 When they show up, one thing they will do is check to see if there are any leaks in your inside piping.  If there are, your gas will not be turned back on until you have had a plumber repair the leaks.  The test is normally done at the end of the process.  You may wish to insist that it be done as soon as the old meter is pulled so that you have some time to get them fixed.

The project is still at the stage of obtaining permits from the city.  This always involves a little negotiation, so there is no time table.  NiSource will send you a letter as soon as they have a date.

 Kip Patterson    578-4345

This a service improvement update:

 

As you know, Capital Improvement project 749 (CIP 749) which is a stormwater improvement project, is scheduled to begin soon. Adena Brook Community neighbor Kip Patterson attended a meeting to learn more about the project this week and met the contractor. Kip has an engineering background and is a helpful representative to neighbors for this work. Kip keeps maps of the sewer, water, and gas lines in our areas. I am delighted about the relationship Kip has established with city engineer Mark Timbrook, and with the excavating contractor, Jackie S. Fields, as we begin this project.

 

Most important, and the reason for this email, is to tell you that before the project can begin, Columbia Gas has work to do. This morning I talked with Columbia Gas public relations person, Pam Learman. She was proactively helpful and very kind. She made contact with our group to begin a positive partnership so that improvements are made in the least invasive way possible and so that we are aware of their work. BEFORE the CIP 749 gets underway, Columbia Gas needs to do some of their own improvement work: [1] move 103 meters outdoors–some of us have meters in our homes and they need to be placed outdoors, and [2] relocate 6,800 feet of gasline–this will affect about 125 homes. All homeowners directly affected by the work will receive a letter from Columbia Gas early next week. Pam said the letters will be mailed out tomorrow. The work will begin about August 1st and take a month. Then CIP 749 will begin. The streets affected for the gas line improvement are:

 

Glenmont

Glenmont Place

Wynding

Yaronia

Wynding

Lenappe

Canyon

 

I am grateful for the improved services to our neighborhood. I am happy to tell you that the City (DOSD) and Columbia Gas know about our group’s conservation efforts and I am hopeful and confident this work will be done with respect for the natural environment, both park land and residential property. It will be an inconvenience, though. Expect traffic disruption and work in some of the easement parts of your properties if you receive a letter. Our aging neighborhood needs these improvements. It is important to get this work done.

Kip Patterson is an Adena Brook neighbor and member of the Adena Brook Community Team of neighbors. He holds maps of Adena Brook, the water and sewer lines. He also has some maps of work of CIPs in our watershed. He and Susan Michael Barrett talk to and attend meetings with city workers related to capital improvement projects. We share what we learn with Adena Brook neighbors. Look for messages from Kip Patterson about CIP 749 in the coming months.

Adena Brook Team Member Kip Patterson writes:

I attended the pre-work meeting this morning.

The work is scheduled to start on August 11th, but may not because of our good friends Columbia Gas not getting their preliminary work done.  The contractor folks are very nice and asked for our help perhaps with notifications.

They will have a lot of fill dirt to get rid of, if you know of any takers.  Realize that we are talking the smallest quantity being a large dump truck load.  They also need a site where they can store materials.

I also met Brian Haemmerle, an engineer with the water department.  He has just received the assignment to design the water line replacement for Lenappe and Canyon.  He is also going to look into the continuing leak under Cooke that is feeding Adena Brook.

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