The city of Chickamauga plans to upgrade its water lines and add a water well.
One area planning to be upgraded is Park Street, where old galvanized lines have built up with sediment and corroded. Not only will the new line incorporate new materials for better performance as it ages, it will also be much larger in diameter, said City Manager Micheal Haney.
“We have a huge problem with water leaks and we would like to apply to [Community Development Block Grant] for possible funding to replace those lines,” he said. “We look at a new supply line to run through Ninth Street and tie into Kingston Street. It will increase the flow, or volume, of water. We meet the demand, but when there is a high demand for water, we lose money. We depend on that altitude valve to open up.”
Line improvements will loop the system and allow for continuous flow in the event of a break or a fire throughout the system, explained Chickamauga grant consultant Angela Steedley, president of Steedley Firm. The water system upgrade will improve supply and pressure for businesses and residents in downtown Chickamauga, along U.S. 27 and in the Park Street neighborhood, she said.
The firm is looking at a combination of funding to also construct a well as a backup water source, said Steedley.
Carter and Sloope Senior Engineer Matt Smith said that overall, the project will help the entire system by giving redundancy to the city’s water supply. A generator is also part of what Smith estimated as the project’s $2.1 million cost.
“They have one well now,” he said. “The generator will be put in place in the case of a power outage. We will pay for a new well, a chemical feed building, water lines and the generator. We are going for a CDBG $500,000 grant and a [Georgia Environmental Finance Authority] grant for $200,000 to $500,000 and an [Appalachian Regional Commission] Grant for $300,000.”
Smith said the project should start in 2017. He will complete the engineering design and contract administration for construction.
He said he assumes the city will wait on funding to be secure before getting too far into the design.
“It will be the end of 2016 when we start to learn about awarded grants,” Smith said. “The CDBG we will learn in September 2017, after application in April 2017. I feel good we will get the funding. CDBG replacements for Park Street are needed because it replaces undersized water lines along the sides of the road.”
Haney said the well will be built on the south end of the city, and fire plugs will be installed on Sparks Street.
“A new well house would balance out the water pressure and the volume of the water system,” he explained. “As this system continues to grow, we have to make sure we meet the demand. It’s three projects in one we are looking to get funding through GEFA and CDBG and other funding. We will spend this year trying to obtain funding and in 2017 we will start construction. I want everything in place before we start doing this.”