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Vienna details multi‑phase water, sewer and storm projects and gradual rate increases
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Summary
City public-works staff outlined multi-year sewer upsizing, force-main replacement, water-main reinforcements and a phased 28th Street storm‑drainage plan, and said water and sewer rates will rise gradually over three years to cover borrowing and construction costs.
City public-works staff and utility-board volunteers presented detailed plans for upgrades to Vienna's water and sewer systems and for stormwater work intended to reduce chronic flooding.
Rick, a public-works presenter, described Phase 1 sewer upsizing on 11th Avenue toward the pump station, replacement of an aging force main (installed around 1982) with larger plastic pipe, and a program of water-main reinforcements to connect dead-end lines and improve pressure. He said design work for several projects is well advanced and that the 16th Street, Grand Central and other reinforcement segments will improve emergency routing between well fields.
City staff outlined a multi-source funding package: a $1,000,000 congressional earmark referenced for the industrial cleanup (see riverfront article), a $1,000,000 US EPA grant for wastewater projects and a proposed $250,000 match from the governor's office. For larger water projects the presenters mentioned an IGU/IGUC loan in the order of $9,000,000. The 28th Street storm-drainage project was described as phased to spread costs: an initial construction estimate of roughly $1.5 million for Phase 1 with multi-phase total costs that had previously been estimated at as much as $6,000,000.
On household costs, staff said the city will implement a three-year, step-rate increase rather than one-time large hikes. "By the time everything goes through, we'll be at 30 for water and 45 for sewer," the presenter said, describing end-point quarterly bills under the proposed schedule. Presenters said the approach aims to spread costs to minimize shock to ratepayers while covering loans and construction.
Officials asked residents for patience during construction and emphasized planning steps: final design completion, bidding in the summer, and construction timed around school calendars where possible.
The city emphasized the projects address long-standing infrastructure aging and infiltration/inflow that increases treatment volumes. Officials advised residents that construction schedules are approximate, financing details may change and specific neighborhood impacts will be posted before work begins.
