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Engineering reports PSC incompleteness letter, DNR approval and ongoing water-main investigations
Summary
Engineering staff told the board they received a standard incompleteness letter from the PSC, have DNR approval for the project, and described several recent water-main breaks and an ongoing pressure-fluctuation investigation around Ross and Thirteenth.
Engineering staff reported updates on regulatory review and on recent system maintenance at the Board of Public Works and Capital Assets meeting on Aug. 12. Staff said they received an incompleteness letter from the Public Service Commission for a construction authorization application and that the Department of Natural Resources has approved the project.
“We have our incompleteness letter from the PSC for ... that construction authorization application. That is really standard practice on their end at this point,” the utility engineer said, adding, “we're actually quite excited to get it.” Staff said they are preparing a response to the PSC letter.
Staff also described recent water-main breaks and repairs. The utility engineer said one notable break occurred on Marquette, where crews replaced about 5 feet of ductile iron main because of deterioration. Another break on July 17 occurred on a service road off Ross Avenue on the city's east side; staff described a visible flow of water that at one point traveled into an AT&T duct and into South Milwaukee before being traced to the city's main.
Board members raised an operational concern about pressure fluctuations near Thirteenth and Ross. The utility engineer reported locating a mostly closed valve—likely related to Ross Avenue construction tie-ins—that coincided with pressure drops whenever the pump station ran. Crews exercised valves from Howell Tower out to Thirteenth and Ross to locate the issue. Staff said some fluctuation remains during weekday daytime pump operations and that pressure loggers remain deployed for further investigation.
Staff framed the PSC letter and the DNR approval as positive progress for the project and described the water-main repairs and the valve find as part of routine operations and ongoing monitoring. The board did not take new policy action on these items during the session; staff said they will continue to work on the PSC response and on pressure monitoring.
