Published March 26 2014
Utilities staff will host an open house on Thursday, April 3, to provide an opportunity for residents to comment on proposed projects being considered for Bellevue's 2015-2021 Water, Sewer, and Storm and Surface Water Utility Capital Investment Program (CIP).
The open house will be from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 450 110th Ave NE, Room 1E-113. The Environmental Services Commission will take comments at a public meeting during their regular session, which will begin immediately after the open house at 6:30.
New CIP projects being proposed:
- Sewer: Inflow and Infiltration Investigation and Flow Monitoring: A five year project to investigate the source and magnitude of storm and groundwater in the sanitary sewer system, which often leads to overflows. Elimination of I&I can avoid costly capacity improvements. The investigation would be done over several years, 2015-19, at an estimated cost of $1.1 million.
- Sewer: Condition Assessment of Sewer Force Mains: A five year project to assess the structural condition of 5.8 miles of pressurized sewer pipes (force mains) located throughout Bellevue, to assist in determining when to replace these critical pipes. The project would be done in 2015-19, at an estimated cost of $1.25 million.
- Storm: Video Assessment of Critical Storm Pipes: A three-year project to video-inspect approximately 50 miles of the most critical stormwater pipes throughout Bellevue to help estimate stormwater pipeline renewal and replacement needs. The project would be completed in 2015-17, at an estimated cost of $1.1 million.
A new CIP project up for discussion would increase minimum water pressure in the Crossroads area, for the highest geographic areas, from 30 to 40 pounds per square inch (psi). The suite of system changes needed would cost approximately $15 million.
Proposed changes to existing CIP projects:
- W-103: Increased Drinking Water Storage Availability: Revise the project scope to include system improvements to move water from east Bellevue to west Bellevue.
- W-82: Accelerate the fire hydrant standardization program to replace 22 non-compliant hydrants by 2018.
- S-16: Accelerate sewer pump station rehabilitations from one station per year to a sustainable rate of two per year beginning in 2017 to avoid costly increased maintenance and potential failures.
- S-58: Accelerate evaluation of aging sewer pipes along the Lake Washington shoreline, and develop a strategic plan for their replacement.
- S-60: Modify the Wilburton sewer upgrade project to include a new pipe crossing under I-405 and increased pipe capacity to accommodate greater anticipated population growth.
- S-30: Eliminate a seldom-used program to facilitate extension of sewer pipes to unserved areas.
- D-64: Increase funding for stormwater pipe rehabilitation program
The Environmental Services Commission will consider public comments before endorsing the proposed CIP recommendations at a meeting later in April.