Strasburg panel discusses discovery of disconnected pipe
Below is an article that appeared in the Northern Virginia Daily on March 8th, 2021.
STRASBURG – The Strasburg Town Council is expected to vote at a future meeting on an appropriation to fix a disconnected pipe that was discovered as part of the final phase of the streetscape project.
About $13,000 from the general fund will be sought to go toward the repairs that are initially estimated to cost about $33,000.
With the Virginia Department of Transportation partially funding the streetscape project, it will cover about $10,000 of the repair cost. Another $10,000 from the town’s stormwater management fund may be used as well.
“Here comes government stepping in to fix the situation,” Town Manager Wyatt Pearson said at a recent infrastructure committee meeting in which the problem was presented.
Fingers could be pointed at the private property owners involved, the state or the town for allowing it to happen, though it's unclear who the blame should fall on, Pearson said. The current private property owners involved do not intend to take responsibility for it, he said.
Chairman Paul Weaver, Vice Mayor Ken Cherrix and Councilwoman Taralyn Nicholson attended the March 2 infrastructure meeting.
The problem is the pipe that isn’t connected to anything empties behind the property that is behind Jalisco Restaurant at 348 E. King Street, Pearson explained. The pipe is collecting water from the Strasburg Emporium across the street and a couple of sewer drains and then emptying the water out into the ground of that area, Pearson said.
The pipe is running under Route 55, and the fear is the road and property where the water is being emptied could become compromised, Pearson said.
As a solution, Pearson said Lantz Construction, which is working on the streetscape project, can build a pipe connection that extends out from where it is now and then be connected to an existing line on Acton Place. Private property owners in the area are amenable to a utility easement going where the pipe is and the town would continue maintenance of it, Pearson said.
Prospective buyers of the property where the pipe is emptying water have said they could fill the pipe with concrete, Pearson also said, which could lead to more backing up of the pipe. The proposed solution wouldn’t eliminate the flooding issue of the Emporium’s parking lot, which was poorly designed, Pearson added, but it could help.
“It’s not going to get any cheaper than it is now,” Weaver said, as committee members voted to have the full council vote on the appropriation after Pearson got more solid figures on costs.
The committee also voted to prioritize projects from a recent study on the town’s water infrastructure, which highlighted about seven projects costing about $2.1 million. The two prioritized projects would be part of next year's budget proposal, Pearson said.
Those included expanding the line from a 6-inch diameter to a 12-inch diameter out to Sandy Hook Elementary School to improve fire line flows, Public Works Director Jay McKinley explained in the meeting.
Fire suppression water tanks were explored but those ended up being more expensive at about $600,000 versus about $250,000 to replace the line, McKinley said. The work is expected to occur within about six months to a year, McKinley said.
The other project includes acquiring land for a second above-ground water tank in the low-pressure zone. The town has one above-ground tank and the Sandy Hook reservoir. But the Virginia Department of Health does not like the reservoir as is could be compromised, McKinley said.
The other project recommendations from the study will be added as capital improvement plan projects later on, McKinley said. The town will have some difficult discussions upcoming regarding water infrastructure and capital costs, Pearson said.
Contact Charles Paullin at cpaullin@nvdaily.com
