Mario Garza

When asked later what that ,20 million amount would fund, Public Works Director Mario Garza, who was not able to attend the Feb. 20 meeting, said the amount would fund much of the initial two portions of a water and wastewater infrastructure study presented to the city in August 2006.

That study outlined a three-part plan which included an overhaul of the city's existing water and wastewater infrastructure and a 20-year, two-phase plan to expand the infrastructure to meet future needs.The total cost of all three elements of the plan, according to the study, is ,58.67 million.

Garza said the cost of the initial portion, which includes completely replacing the city's existing system, is estimated at ,11.7 million, and would include the Texas Boulevard and Hwy. 281 Relief Route projects.The remaining amount of the bond, approximately ,8 million, would be used to fund a portion of the first phase of the expansion project.

The total cost of that first phase, a five-year plan, is ,36.4 million.The remaining phase outlined in the study, Garza said, would total ,10.6 million spread over the remaining 15-years of the plan.Although the ,20 million bond will not completely fund the improvements detailed by the firm hired to study the city's water and wastewater, Garza said it would provide a "good start" for the city and would noticeably improve the way of life for local residents.

Garza said the details of the bond issue were presented to the council Feb. 22 in a council workshop.

Mario Garza, the director of public works for the City of Alice, said Wednesday the problem started several months ago with a sewer line that services houses on Gresham and Hartwell streets.

The area affected includes approximately 25 houses on the north side of Hartwell Street and the south side of Gresham Street.

Garza said the problem began when a 6-inch clay sewer line running under an easement behind the homes apparently partially caved in.

"That clay pipe is probably 40 to 50 years old," Garza said."Clay hasn't been used in many years, because clay pipe cracks under soil movement."

In addition to the sewer line, which is buried 10 feet deep, the easement also contains a water line and a gas line, as well as several power lines, Garza said.

Those factors combined prevent the city from removing and replacing the line, which led city engineers to decide to install two new lines to bypass the clogged line.

Those two lines, which will be made of eight-inch PVC pipe, will be installed in front of the affected homes, in a city easement between the street curb and the houses.

Garza said that process, which is expected to take 30 days, will require the city crews to dig up significant portions of the area in front of those residents' homes.

"There's a small piece of sidewalk, there's concrete driveways we're going to have to break up and replace.There's yard we're going to have to dig up," Garza said."After it's done, we're going to replace the concrete driveways and dress up the city right of way with topsoil.It obviously will not be in perfect condition, but it will be the best we can make it."

The project, which will include hiring a plumbing contractor to reroute the sewer connections from the back of the homes to the front, is expected to cost the city ,30,000, Garza said.

In the next few days, city crews will be going door-to-door in the neighborhood to hand out flyers and answer residents' questions about the project, Garza said.
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Garza encouraged any residents with questions about the project to contact the Public Works Department at 668-7270, or the Engineering Department at 668-7280, and asked for the public's patience while the crews worked to fix the problem.

"They're going to be inconvenienced for awhile," Garza said.

Mario Garza, the city's public works director, said 1,800 feet of six-inch plastic piping would replace the 2-inch galvanized steel pipeline.Crews could be scheduled to start later this month after a 5-foot land easement is approved.

Project Owner Representative - Mario Garza, P.E. - City of Alice Public Works Director

Filed 2006-10-27: Permit Modification Request