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City updates council on $90,000 DES asset-management grant for sewer and storm systems
Summary
Public works presented results of a $90,000 Department of Environmental Services grant that funded consultants and technology for sewer and stormwater asset management; sewer inventory is mostly complete, stormwater less so, and the city bought a pole-mounted inspection camera.
LACONIA, N.H. — The city’s public works department updated the City Council on July 28 about a Department of Environmental Services (DES) asset-management grant that funded inventory, condition assessments and technology for sewer and stormwater systems.
"The grant funded from DES, $90,000 in total, fully funded — $80,000 that was for consultants, and $10,000 for technology," Assistant Public Works Director Nate Jurette told councilors. "Our sewer asset management program is 98% complete." He added that the stormwater inventory and condition assessments are about 60% complete.
Jurette said the work created a centralized GIS-based data and tracking system, improved capital planning and increased transparency; staff have published maps on the city's website tied to the GIS system. The project used ESRI/ArcGIS tools and a field data-entry solution that lets crews select assets on a tablet and upload condition data and photos to the main database.
A technology purchase highlighted in the presentation was a pole-mounted, high-resolution inspection camera equipped with a laser for distance readings. Jurette said the camera — which the department tested and has used in troubleshooting — cost roughly $17,000 to $18,000, and that the DES technology allocation was applied toward it.
Jurette described the value of being able to inspect lines quickly to determine whether work requires a contractor's camera truck or localized crews. He said sewer lining and condition data allow planners to target investments more effectively; "when we had $300,000 in lining to spend this year… we were able to whittle it down to 190 pipe segments based on condition," he said.
Councilors asked about recurring trouble spots and how the program will change maintenance planning. Jurette identified Elm Street as a known bottleneck and said that many drainage systems have been piecemealed over a century, leaving a mix of pipe materials and unknown conditions. He said the department is using the new data to check drainage conditions before repaving roads so the city does necessary drainage repairs when repaving rather than waiting and creating a second disruption.
No fiscal action was requested at the meeting; the presentation was the final grant reporting step required to receive reimbursement from DES. Jurette asked for the council’s continued support for the department’s implementation work.
