Phil Dodd
Montpelier residents will be voting on Town Meeting Day, March 3, on an $8 million bond to fund the replacement of some city water pipes, sewer pipes, and a sewer pump station. The bond would accelerate the repair of aging pipes, some of which would be fixed using new methods. Payments would come out of water and sewer fees.
In related water line news, Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch announced Feb. 6 that they had obtained a $1.7 million federal “earmark” to pay for water line replacements in Montpelier. The city had asked for $13 million for 10 years of water line repairs, but getting any funding is a measure of success for a city that has rarely received earmark money.
Montpelier has an aging water system, with some water pipes over 100 years old. The city has experienced multiple water line breaks (see story on page 2) and valve failures in recent years, leading to water shut-offs; boil-water notices; stressful overtime work for city employees; extra expenses; and, in three cases last winter, the flooding of basements or yards. Water leaks can also displace soils, resulting in roadway settlement.
Some critics, including at least one state official, have said Montpelier needs to make changes to reduce the very high pressure in the city’s water system that these critics says is causing leaks and sometimes damaging plumbing and appliances, but the Department of Public Works has maintained it will be more efficient and cost-effective to replace the city’s old or failing pipes.
Montpelier has a 50-year plan to replace half of its water and sewer pipes, with most of the activity beginning in 2040 and beyond, according to a June 3, 2021 city memo. The estimated cost of the plan at that time was $83.2 million for water pipes and $83.2 million for sewer lines. The 50-year plan is scheduled to be updated this year.
Berlin and Clarendon Targeted
According to city officials, the proposed bond proceeds would likely be spent on replacing sewer lines on Berlin Street and Clarendon Avenue and water lines on Barre Street, lower State Street, and North Street. Replacing the sewer pump station on lower State Street will require over half of the bond proceeds.
For Montpelier residents who would like to see stepped-up efforts to repair the city’s infrastructure, the Article 6 bond vote — as well as the proposed city budget — offers a chance to support a greater focus on infrastructure.
The city budget calls for a jump in paving expenditures, from $725,000 this year to about $1 million next year, although that still falls short of the $1.2 million annual paving appropriations the Department of Public Works has said is needed for “steady-state” maintenance and was included in the two budgets presented by former acting City Manager Kelly Murphy.
Department of Public Works Director Kurt Motyka said the department first conceived of a bond vote this year for the pump station replacement, but decided to add water and sewer lines as well. A year ago, Motyka told the city council the city would not be requesting bonds for water lines until 2030 and 2033, so this proposal signals a faster pace of replacement.
Motyka told The Bridge that the city may not be able to start on any water line projects this summer if the East State Street project gets underway this year. Rebuilding East State Street is a two-year project that will include replacing water and sewer lines.
However, if the bond passes, there is a good chance the city could replace the sewer line on Berlin Street in anticipation of possibly paving that road in 2027. “It’s more likely the Berlin Street sewer will be constructed because that really should be done ahead of the paving,” he said.
New Water Line Replacement Methods
The Department of Public Works is contemplating using new techniques for some water line replacements, partly because of staffing and time constraints, Motyka said. Motyka was tasked with working on FEMA flood paperwork after former Finance Director Sarah LaCroix resigned.
“We also have had a long-term vacancy in engineering,” he said. “We filled it for a short time, six months, and then we lost that person. So we’re trying to find ways to accelerate waterline improvements that involve lower demands on staff time and management.”
Motyka told city councilors earlier this year that the private sector pays more for young engineers than Montpelier offers, making hiring a challenge.
Instead of digging up the streets to replace pipes, the new techniques Public Works is looking at involves pulling a cable through an existing water line and then either “bursting” or lining the water line.
In pipe bursting, a temporary water line is set up to maintain service, then the old line is drained and a cable is pulled through a portion of the line. A cone-shaped head is attached and pulled through. “The cutting head breaks the old one and they pull a bigger pipe behind it in its place,” he said.
A similar technique using a cable can also be used to pull a liner inside of an existing pipe. Barre Street and Lower State Street are the most likely places the city could try these trenchless techniques, with Barre Street proposed as a lining project.
“It’s much lower impact, because you’re not digging everything up,” Motyka said. “The companies that do this work are basically turnkey providers, so they’ll do the temporary water, and they’ll do all the management and the public outreach. Because we are just so buried with work and still recovering from the flood, we’re really trying to find ways to accelerate this work.”
Motyka said the department has not yet figured out how the $1.7 million earmark the city was awarded will be spent, “but most likely it will be used to complete additional projects.” However, he said, “the limiting factor to advancing projects is DPW staff capacity, not funding availability.”
Motyka is not currently planning to submit a request for additional earmarks by the spring deadline because of his department’s workload, he said.
