I checked in with DC Water to see how the water main replacement on Park Road and Morton Street was coming along. Per the project manager, the Park Rd section should be completed & fully restored by next week. The Morton Street section should be completely done by the end of December, weather permitting.
(Water main replacement on Park Road at the beginning of the project.)
Here’s DC Water’s video sequel to “A Drop’s Life”. The original animated video focused on the fate of a raindrop that found itself in the District’s combined sewer system.
The sequel picks up the story with new raindrop characters and a new twist—it describes green methods to keep that raindrop and its buddies out of the sewers altogether by using green infrastructure to absorb the rain before it ever makes its way to the sewer system. Green infrastructure includes curb bump-outs, rain gardens (also called bioretention) and rain barrels that capture rain water and store it for outdoor uses like gardening and car washing.
I like these videos from DC Water and hope you enjoy them too.
Work on the 600 block of Park Road.
DC Water’s replacement of existing 12-inch and smaller cast iron water mains on Park Road and Morton Street is moving along. The mains have been replaced on the 400 block of Park Road with work continuing on the 500/600 block of Park Road. Work has not yet begun on Morton Street.
Construction may last through April 2019. DC Water’s efforts will help improve water quality and system reliability, increase water pressure in some areas, and maintain adequate flows throughout the system.
After visiting the construction area on Park Road, it appears that we’re getting some new sidewalks out of the effort as well. This should be a temporary benefit, however, as the sidewalk abutting Park Morton should be reworked in the future as part of that effort as well.
I previously reported that DC Water would be replacing existing 12-inch and smaller cast iron water mains on Park Road and Morton Street between Georgia Avenue and Park Place. That work began earlier this week at the intersection of Park Place and Park Road, as shown by the photo below.
Yesterday, DC Water announced that as part of its Capital Improvement Program, they will be replacing existing 12-inch and smaller cast iron water mains in various locations throughout the city, including the Park View neighborhood. Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2017 and last through April 2019. These efforts will help improve water quality and system reliability, increase water pressure in some areas, and maintain adequate flows throughout the system. The streets impacted in Park View can be found on the map below.
Read the full announcement here for details on days and times of construction and how they plan to notify residents when parking will be impacted.
Map showing streets impacted by water main replacement project.
DC Water is currently working to schedule a water main replacement project in the Columbia Heights area. The impacted streets will be Irving, Columbia, Harvard, Girard, Fairmont, and Clifton between 13th and 14th Streets. DC Water is in the process of coordinating with DDOT and WMATA and working through the permitting process. The project could begin in April or May.
The mains to be replaced in Columbia Heights are approximately 100 years old, and one of several locations that are part of a much larger project.
When work commences, it will impact two streets at a time. The first sweep will focus on replacing the water mains on each street, which will be followed by all the lead connector service lines from the mains to the edge of the public space being replaced with copper lines if they are lead. DC Water estimates it will take about two to three weeks to work on each block.
While the work is necessary, it will be disruptive to both the immediate community and those who travel through the neighborhood. During construction, parking will not be permitted on affected blocks. Every attempt will be made to keep the streets open to traffic, though there could be occasional times when a street closure is necessary. It is also worth noting that both Irving Street and Columbia Road currently support Metro Bus and shuttles between the Columbia Heights Metro Station and the Washington Hospital Center.
Representatives from DC Water will be attending the ANC1A meeting on April 12th where they will share additional details.
On June 6th, DC Water launched their new interactive map and other online content designed to help property owners identify the material that makes up their water service lines, where that information is available. The map allows customers to enter an address to see the information that DC Water has in its records pertaining to service pipe material, in public space and on private property. Its a pretty cool tool that is worth checking out. You can read more about DC Water’s efforts related to lead service lines here.
It is important to note that the maps provided by D.C. Water are based on historical data, information directly provided by customers, and in some cases, information acquired during physical inspections.
(Click on map to launch tool.)
D.C. Water is gearing up for its 7th annual series of Ward Town Hall meetings. The meeting for Ward 1 is currently scheduled for Tuesday, April 5th. A location has yet to be announced. I will post an update once a location has been confirmed. In the meantime, I’m sharing the content of an email that was sent to ANC Commissioners:
As many of you are aware, since 2010, DC Water C.E.O. and General Manager George Hawkins has been co-hosting one Town Hall Meeting per Ward with District Councilmembers each year to discuss issues related to water and sewer with residents. The primary purpose for the Town Hall Meetings is to generate customer feedback regarding the proposed rate increase for water/sewer services for the upcoming fiscal year-this feedback is shared with our Board of Directors prior to our annual Public Rates Hearing, which takes place in early-mid May. Resident feedback is very important, as their comments are heavily considered by our Board while voting on the proposed rate increase in July. In fact, interested residents are encouraged to sign up and testify at the Hearing; our Board Secretary and her team attend each meeting with a sign-up sheet for this purpose. It is now time for the 7th Annual Town Halls to begin!
In addition to a presentation given by Mr. Hawkins covering the proposed rate increase, our Town Hall Meetings follow an open house format, whereupon DC Water staff representing each of our departments will be stationed at tables around the room and prepared to address customer inquiries on a wide array of topics, including the following:
- Water quality and water conservation
- Wastewater treatment process
- New and ongoing construction projects, and coordination efforts with DDOT and fellow utilities
- Routine water/sewer infrastructure repairs, both scheduled and emergency repairs
- Status on pending work orders for reported water and sewer emergencies and/or reporting new emergencies
- Community Outreach program
- DC Clean Rivers Project updates
- Catch basins
- Water mains and fire hydrants
- Overall DC Water personnel operations
- Employment opportunities at DC Water
- Customer Service (Billing)
- Residents interested in testifying at the annual DC Water Public Rates Hearing
Please see below the list of scheduled meetings:
- Tuesday, April 5 – Ward 1 Town Hall
- Wednesday, April 6 – Ward 4 Town Hall
- Thursday, April 7 – Ward 2 Town Hall
- Thursday, April 14 – Ward 5 Town Hall
- Tuesday, April 19 – Ward 6 Town Hall
- Thursday, April 21 – Ward 3 Town Hall
- Tuesday, April 26 – Ward 7 Town Hall
- Wednesday, April 27 – Ward 8 Town Hall
Each meeting will be from 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
We ask that you please mark your respective calendars for the above meeting dates – please don’t miss the opportunity to speak with your water utility about the related concerns or issues you have in your community. We are working to confirm the various meeting locations, and once this has been done we will be providing follow up emails with this additional information, as well as coordinating with Council staff on the creation of meeting flyers that we can provide to you in both electronic and hard copy formats so that you may assist DC Water in spreading the word about the Town Hall Meetings by circulating the flyers throughout your neighborhood. We will also provide up-to-date information regarding the meetings on our website at www.dcwater.com/customercare/rates.cfm, which will include electronic copies of each meeting flyer. Please continue to check that space as well.
In closing, we thank you for your interest in our 7th Annual Ward Town Hall Meetings, and please stay tuned for further updates.
DC Water is busy with projects in our general area. Here are two that I think are noteworthy.
![[add text here]](https://parkviewdc.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/dc-water-rccr-project.jpg)
Location of service line replacements, water main installation, and new hydrant replacements.
The scope of work includes:
Expected completion date of this project is April 2016 (Read full news release here).
(New hydrant located at Rock Creek Church Road and 5th Street, NW)
The other DC Water project is at Fairmont Street and Georgia Avenue, NW, which will involve the replacement of a 20-inch gate valve and a portion of the pipeline.
The project is scheduled to begin on March 21, 2016 and estimated to be completed by August 12, 2016. The project may involve lane closures and reduce area parking during some phases of construction.
(Read full news release here).
From a DC Water News Release:
DC Water has determined that there is a need to perform preventative maintenance procedures to sewer mains located within the Park View area of the District. These procedures will require the inspection and cleaning of sewer mains in order to determine whether further maintenance or repairs are needed. Project area streets will include Lamont Street NW, Keefer Place NW, 6th Street NW, Kenyon Street NW, Warder Street NW, Irving Street NW, Luray Place NW, Columbia Road NW and Park Road NW (see map below). This project will primarily involve cleaning and lining of approximately 4,747 linear feet of sewer mains, rehabilitation of approximately 60 lateral connections, cleaning and lining of 50 manholes. The project is scheduled to start in January 2016 and be completed by February 2016 (Detailed information sheet here).
Additional information of interest to residents:
Schedule
Traffic
"The territory comprising Park View extends from Gresham Street north to Rock Creek Church Road, and from Georgia Avenue to the Soldiers' Home grounds, including the triangle bounded by Park Road, Georgia Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue" (from Directory and History of Park View, 1921.)
Unknown Feed Washington Business Journal
Park View, D.C. 