Residents of Granville and Coes Hill roads will soon get what they have been hoping for – a good shower.
Department of Public Works Director (DPW) Jeffrey Neece said since he took his position eight years ago, residents of those neighborhoods have complained about their lack of water pressure.
“It is a problem,” said Neece. “Their water pressure is in the 30s (of pounds per square inch) and at high peak times in the morning, it just dribbles out.”
The average pressure is around 50-55 pounds per square inch. The problem, said Neece, is that water is pumped uphill on those roads from College Highway to a booster pump station where it receives a boost of pressure to get it to the upper part of the street, and the booster pumps are not working properly.
“Those pumps are in excess of 50 years old,” said Neece. Neece said the department has been working for six years to get the project approved, funded and designed. Today, the new booster pump stations are built and being hooked up to new water pipes.
“They should be operating by the end of May,” said Neece. Once the new stations are connected and ready to go online, Neece said the switch from the old to new pumps will take just a few hours.
“We will turn off the water after peak use in the morning and have it back up before the evening,” said Neece, adding that residents would be alerted in advance that water will be shut off for a few hours on that day.
There are 12 homes on Coes Hill Road and 37 homes on Granville Road affected by the booster pumps.
Cost for the two new booster pump stations and pipes is $561,600.
