Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Village engineer says hydro-excavation program will locate remaining lead-style services; work to continue into summer
Summary
A Spicer engineer reported progress on a village-funded TMF-funded hydro-excavation inspection program, saying crews have checked dozens of service lines, found several galvanized lines that may require replacement, and that the contract scope was expanded to inspect the entire village.
A village engineer for Spicer told the Village of Saint Charles council that a hydro-excavation program to locate and document water service materials has finished roughly 58 inspections so far and identified several galvanized services that may need replacement.
The engineer said crews “started down on Hanchette and they're kind of slowly working north through the village,” and that of those first 58 inspections the contractor found seven galvanized services. He warned that galvanized fittings “aren't necessarily problematic. But unless you can prove that it was never previously connected to lead, you have to go ahead and replace it.”
The engineer said the contractor is moving at a pace of about 20 inspections per day and is on pace to finish the inspection phase around June or early July, although the contract allows work into August or September. He said the village changed the contract to expand the inspected services from 356 to 570 so the program will cover “the entire village” and identify remaining unknown or galvanized services.
Council members asked about public notice and mapping of contractor activity. The engineer said the village has a public scope map of planned inspections but the contractor schedules work day-to-day; he offered to provide a rough weekly map or to give residents timing estimates upon request.
Spicer and village staff described the field process used: crews use hydro-excavation and high-pressure washing to remove soil around service shutoffs, document the service material with photos, then backfill the excavation and restore sod. The engineer said the contractor will “spot” services during inspection and that DPW will later follow up on replacements for any lead or galvanized services found.
Council members and staff also discussed grant and funding mechanics tied to the project. The engineer said the contract expansion used available grant allocation and that part of the engineering work is funded by grant money that can be used to pursue future replacement funding.
The council heard this update during new-business engineering reports; no formal vote to change the contract was recorded on the hydro‑excavation item during the meeting.
