Friday, January 28, 2005
Council decision puts sewer fix on fast track
Landowners, residents, developers and councilmay get relief from nagging sewer problems by next year.
Some north end landowners have been saddled with property they can't develop because they can't hook into the sewer system. Town council rejected a plan in December to build nearly 400 houses in the north end, partly because of sewer issues.
Apartment dwellers along Webb Street have for years feared heavy rains and the sewage it often pushes up into their showers, sinks and toilets.
Last May, sewer issues brought out the largest number of voters in a town election in more than a decade, changed the face of council and killed a gravity sewer proposal for the Toms Creek Basin.
On Tuesday, that new council cleared the way for a much-needed upgrade of the Webb Street sewer line when it decided on the line's future service area.
Council had been considering expanding the line's service area to include the Toms Creek Basin and areas across the town line, but decided to serve only north end areas east of the U.S. 460 bypass.
Now engineers with the Blacksburg-VPI Sanitation Authority can determine the size and cost of the new line. If all goes as planned, it should be in place by August 2006, authority director Michael Vaught said.
Another sewer upgrade is currently under way at University City Boulevard and Prices Fork Road. There, a new 24-inch line will be installed to serve University Mall upgrades, Virginia Tech growth and town development along Prices Fork Road.
The upgrade will happen in three phases and costs will be shared among University Mall owners Bill Ellenbogen and Bill Sterrett, Virginia Tech, the sanitation authorityand Blacksburg.
Although the sewer there runs well below its capacity, Blacksburg Planning and Engineering Director Adele Schirmer said Thursday it could not support future growth allowed by current town zoning.
A "series of changes is being considered over the next 20 years" for nearby Tech property, some of which could have a big impact on the town, Ellenbogen said.
Both sewer upgrades are now on a fast track.
The Webb Street line may be up for bid in about 60 days, said Vaught, the sanitation authority director.
Phase one of the University City Boulevard upgrade will go out to bid in the next 30 days, Tech utilities director Keith Boyd said.
