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City hearing highlights aging water and sewer infrastructure and $100M replacement projection
Summary
A Hazen & Sawyer presentation to Henderson City Council identified pockets of high-risk water and sewer assets, a conservative estimate of more than $100 million in assets past useful life, and recommended targeted CCTV inspections, annual valve exercising, and data refinement to prioritize repairs.
Henderson City Council on March 9 heard from Hazen & Sawyer about the city's water and sewer asset management work, which found most assets at low-to-moderate risk but flagged older neighborhoods and specific sewer force mains as priorities for inspection and repair. John Sorrell, the firm's representative, said the team combined parcel data, historical project records and condition indicators to estimate replacement needs and risk.
Sorrell told the Council the firm's preliminary, conservative projection shows more than $100 million in assets already past their expected useful life, but he emphasized that the figure could change after targeted condition assessments. He urged the city to refine its data, exercise roughly 20 percent of water valves annually, and use CCTV to assess sewer mains cheaply and accurately.
Mayor Melissa Elliott and Assistant City Manager Christy Lipscomb pressed for clarification about recent work in the Sandy Creek basin. Lipscomb said the City has an ongoing condition assessment there, that recent repairs to lines and manholes reduced rain-event overflows, and that additional state funding is supporting force main and valve repairs in that watershed.
Sorrell warned of a projected spike in replacement needs around 2035 as a historic wave of infrastructure ages simultaneously, and recommended beginning condition assessments promptly so crews can locate problems before residents are affected. He also said documentation of an asset inventory strengthens applications to state Clean Water and Drinking Water SRF programs, and advised refining condition data before proposing major rate changes.
The presentation and Council discussion focused on improving data and shifting from reactive to proactive maintenance. City staff noted limited crew capacity can force a focus on emergencies and that the first year of an asset-management program may be visible mainly in new inspection activity rather than large, immediately visible projects.
The Council did not take formal action on funding or rate changes during the meeting; staff were directed to continue condition assessments and refine cost estimates.
