Belmar Residents to Get a New Waterline

About a dozen Belmar residents attended a meeting with (ALMU) officials at the June 1 for a presentation of the Belmar Boulevard water main replacement project.

ALMU representatives said aging from corrosion, frost, thermal stresses, erosion, truck loading and damage from excavation has taken its toll on the infrastructure.

The 80-year-old main has had 31 breaks since it was installed in the early 1930s. Six of the last breaks have occurred in 2011.

Engineering Services Manager Jack Gaydar estimated the project’s cost at $466,850.

"Property owners will not be assessed for connecting to the new water main,” Gaydar said. “Funding for the project will be made available entirely from water revenues."      

ALMU uses a quantitative method rating system to prioritize water and sewer main replacement.

The project consists of video taping the entire project site for pre-construction conditions, locating and marking underground utilities, installing, disinfecting and bacterial testing the temporary and new water mains, reconnecting existing services, restoring the site, and cleaning and replacing pavement to the road's pre-construction condition.

Residents will not be charged for water usage from the temporary line.

At the meeting, Belmar resident Dick Dils asked if the city would consider re-paving the street, adding curbing, and replacing driveways with concrete instead of asphalt. Gaydar said that wasn’t his decision.

"You will have to review the street pavement issue with Joe Reitz, the City Engineering Manager," Gaydar said.

Contacted this week, Reitz said concrete, curbs and gutters are possible, but those are assessable improvements, which would cost residents.

“(Residents) can petition the city and I can help with that,” Reitz said. He noted concrete, curbs and gutters would be a major change and require lowering the street.

The current plan calls for all of the west side driveways to be installed with temporary asphalt pavement and that final restoration will be performed during the sewer separation project scheduled for 2012. 

During the sewer replacement project, residents that had asphalt or gravel driveways may select to have concrete pavement by requesting it in writing to the city engineering department and paying the difference in advance of the work under contract unit prices.

Construction is scheduled to begin about July 6 and end Aug. 31. Local traffic will be maintained and residents will be daily notified of any re-routings. Emergency access and senior doctors’ visits will be a priority. Completion of the southerly half (Redwood to Canterbury) will be completed prior to school starting.

Concerns relating to road repairs should be directed to the City Engineering Department at 930-4199. Concerns relating to water line construction or sanitary sewer issues should be directed to Avon Lake Municipal Utilities at 933-6226 during workdays or 440-933-3229 on weekends and holidays. Someone will be on call 24 hours aday to answer questions.

Information and updates and a link to the Belmar Boulevard Water Main Replacement Project can be found on Twitter and ALMU’s website.