Fayetteville utility chief outlines multiyear water, sewer and fiber projects

Britt Dye, chief executive officer of Federal Public Utilities, told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Oct. 14 that the city is in the middle of a multiyear set of infrastructure projects including waterline and sewer replacements, gas-system surveys and expansion of middle-mile fiber.

Dye said crews are installing larger water mains and new service lines across several corridors. He reported 743 feet of 12‑inch pipe installed so far with roughly 18,000 feet remaining; 460 feet of 10‑inch with about 140 feet to complete; 152 feet of 8‑inch with more than 2,000 feet left; and 5,500 feet of 6‑inch with about 47,000 feet still to install. The utility has placed 22 insertion valves, 11 new fire hydrants and about 75 three‑quarter‑inch service lines, Dye said.

The sewer crew is finishing work on Huntsville Highway and completing laterals on Liberty Road, and the gas division completed its annual leak survey and 21 pole changes. Dye said the department installed about 60 miles of additional fiber plant on the middle‑mile network and will begin contractor work to replace underground cable plant where needed before addressing overhead lines.

Board members and attendees asked whether new fiber work would reduce the number of street‑level utility boxes in subdivisions. Dye said some consolidated boxes are larger but that vendors and the utility try to minimize box sizes where possible; he noted some boxes belong to competitors and that equipment packaging changes have increased sizes in some cases.

Dye described the overall water/sewer program as a multiyear project and said certain corridors remain under active construction; he did not provide a final completion date beyond characterizing the program as lengthy. No formal action or vote was required on the reports.