HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 4, 1997 Work SessionCiTY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
590 40TH AVENUe N.E., COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MN 55421-3878 (612) 782~2800 TDD 782-2806
NOTICE
ADMINISTRATION
OF COUNCIL WORK SESSION
Mayor
Joseph Sturdcvant
Councilmembers
Donald G. Jolly
Meg Jones
Gar)' L. Peterson
Robert It: Raettbnann
City Manager
Walt Fehst
Notice is hereby given that a Council Work Session
is to be held itl tile
CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
as follows:
Meeting of: CITY COUNCIL, CITY 3IANAGER AND CITY STAFF
Date of Meeting: MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 1997
Time of Meethlg: 6:30 P.M.
Location of Meeting: CITY HALL CONFERENCE ROOM
Purpose of Meeting: COUNCIL WORK' SESSION
AGENDA
0
2)
3)
4)
Work Plan for Storm Water Problems
Watermahl Cleaning - Innsbnlck & Argonne
Federal Police Grant Funding
Dispose of City Equipment
The City of Cohtmbia Heights does /rot discriminate on tile basis of disabiliO, in tile
admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its sero,ices, program~, or
activities. Upon request, accom/nodation will be provided to allow individuals with
disabilities to participate #l all CiO, of Columbia Heights' sero,ices, programs, and
activities. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are available upon request when t/re
request is made at least 96 hours hi advance. Please call the City Cormcil SecretaO' at
782-2800, Extension 209, To l/lake arrangements. (TDD/782-2806 for deaf onl)9
THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
CITY OF COLUlVlBIA HEIGHTS
Public Works Department
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
WALT FEHST, CITY MANAGER /l
;7OR/~ Y ENGINEER
WORK PLAN FOR STORM WATER PROBLEMS
DATE: July 31, 1997
Staff has been reviewing the flooding problems caused by the heavy rains that fell on July 1 and
July 11. Attached you will find a map of the City indicating the areas that we are aware of that
experienced basement flooding due to backups in the sanitary sewer system or due to direct entry
of water through lower level openings.
What's been done so far
Of course, during the storms, the crexvs have been out clearing catch basins and barricading
flooded streets. Public Works has concentrated on getting the storm and sanitary systems back in
working shape since the storms. Areas of significant erosion have been filled. Crews have been
checking and cleaning catch basins and manholes that have been filled with debris due to the
storms. The water levels of the various lakes and ponds have been drawn down to provide
detention storage should additional down pours occur. Staff has tried to respond to all phone
calls from residents about flooding with at least a visit.
Areas of Concern
Jackson Pond area
Jackson pond reacted as designed to the storm in that it did not overflow. Street flooding on
Quincy Street adjacent to the pond was primarily due to clogged catch basins and surcharging in
the catch basins that would not allow the water to drain out. When the level exceeded the top of
the berm, the run off eroded the bank. A large amount of water came down 43rd Avenue from
Central when the catch basins could not handle the flow. This water went down the existing
small concrete spillway but ended up seriously eroding the bank which eventually failed.
A number of homes in this area experienced sanitary sewer back ups. The trunk line in this area
carries a large amount flow during storms. It is assumed that this is due to a large number of
sump pumps connected to the sanitary system. An surcharge overflow was placed in this line a
number of years ago to reduce the occurrence of sewer backups. During high sewer flows, this
system spills over into a line that goes to Jackson Pond. Staff feels that the rapid rise of water in
Jackson Pond during the storms caused storm water to flow into the sanitary system for a period
of time, making the back ups worse.
WORK PLAN FOR STORM WATER PROBLEMS
Page 2
Staff feels that a concrete spillway should be constructed at the existing catch basins on Quincy
Street in order to reduce the level of street flooding in this area. A larger concrete spillway
should be constructed on the 43ra Avenue side to adequately handle the large amount of water
that comes down 43rd, Quincy, Jackson and Van Buren during heavy rainfalls. The two spill
ways would greatly reduce the potential for basement flooding due to water standing in the street.
In order to reduce the potential for sanitary sewer backups, the existing sanitary sewer overflow
structure needs to be modified to prevent water from Jackson Pond from backing in to the
sanitary sewer. Staff is researching methods of accomplishing this. The ultimate solution is to
eliminate the illegal sump pump connections to the sanitary system. This will be a difficult and
time consuming task. Many homeowners are not even aware that there sump pumps are
discharging to the sanitary system or that this practice is prohibited. Changing the discharge
point from the sewer to pumping out to the yard can be expensive. In order to locate the homes
with illegal connections, either a visual inspection or smoke testing will need to be done.
Obtaining compliance may take the use of fines, surcharges on sewer bills for homes with illegal
connections and/or low interest loans from the City to assist with the disconnection. Attached is
a copy of a brochure that Fridley used for their disconnection program.
49 ~ and Monroe/40th and McKinley areas
These two areas experience street flooding during heavy rains. Except for extremely heavy down
pours, the water does not reach the houses to cause basement flooding. Several homes had water
in their basements from the two heavy storms in July. The residents are very concerned about
the street flooding that does occur as they are never sure it will stop before it reaches their home.
Staff feels that the storm sewer systems in these areas are adequate for handling storms up to the
100 year event, but that the systems should be studied to see what solutions are available to
reduce the occurrence of street flooding and what the costs would be for these solutions. Once
the solutions and their costs are identified, the Council can xveigh the benefits against the cost.
38th to 39th from 2nd to Main, 46th and Washington, 4300 blocks of Washington and Jefferson
These areas had some basement flooding due to street flooding. These are low areas that collect
a large amount of water when the runoff exceeds the capacity of catch basins in the area or there
are blockages of the catch basins due to debris. These areas should be studied along with the
above areas.
44th and Tyler Place
The house at 4016 44th had water in the lower level during both the July 1 and July 11 storms and
the garden level units of the three apartment buildings on Tyler Place were flooded during the
July 11 event. The 48" storm sewer main in this area is very shallow and any surcharging of the
system causes water to come up through the catch basin in the back yard of 4016. The storage
building/garage in the back yard of 4016 is very low and probably gets water often. The flooding
of the apartments was probably due to a major surcharging of the storm sewer as the line was
WORK PLAN FOR STORM WATER PROBL'EMS
Page 3
carrying a larger amount of discharge from LaBelle Pond than ususal due to the high water level
caused by the July 1 storm. Staff has implemented a policy of taking down the level of all ponds
and lakes quickly after a storm in order to provide as much detention capacity for succeeding
storms. There are no simple solutions to reducing the potential for flooding at 4016 due to depth
of storm main and the elevation of the house.
4945 Fillmore
This house suffered some basement flooding due to a plugged catch basin in the backyard.
Public Works staff were not even aware that there was a catch basin or storm sewer at this
location. It is believed that this is a private line and not the responsibility of the City.
Homes in Fridley on 52nd Avenue
The system improvements made a few years ago did not handle the runoff from these storms.
The design of the improvements were based on a 100 year storm. It is felt that the amount of
water exceeded the design capacity. The property owners are looking to the two cities to make
additional improvements to protect their homes from flooding. A solution put forth by Fridley is
to jack a pipe through the hill behind the Strand residence to provide an overflow. The estimated
cost is $16,000 of which Columbia Heights would be responsible for $8,000.
Sca[gered sites
There ~vere several scattered incidents of basement flooding. These will be reviewed by staff on
a case by case basis to look at solutions. There are also numerous areas where there was street
flooding that did not result in water entering homes. These areas will be looked at to determine
if there are ways to reduce the frequency of street flooding.
Recommendations
Staff recommends that a consulting engineering firm be contracted to assist staff in identifying
solutions for the major flooding areas. A consultant will have on staff expertise in storm systems
in order to analyze the system. The consultant would be directed to look at specific areas.
The new spillways at Jackson Pond should installed as part of the repair to the eroded banks and
modifications made to the overflow structure should be made.
A concentrated effort should be made to eliminate illegal sump pump connections.
An informational brochure on landscaping and building practices that will reduce the possibility
of water getting into the basement should be prepared and distributed to the residents.
Costs
It is not possible to determine or even estimate the cost of correcting these problems. The
consulting work, depending on scope and actual construction undertaken to correct problems,
will be in the range of $10,000 to $50,000.
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CITYOF
FRIDLEY
CITY OF FRIDLEY
6431 University Avenue NE.
Fridley, MN 55432
571-3450
CAR-RT-SORT
BULKRATE
U,S. POSTAGE
PAID
Minneapolis, .MN
Permit No. 2886
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Important UtiBty Information Enclosed
o ~
~o
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
DATE:
CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
Public Works Department
MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
WALT FEHST, CITY
MARK A. WrNSON,
PUBLIC WORKS DIRE(/FOR/CITY ENGINEER
WATER MAIN CLEANING - INNSBRUCK AND ARGONNE
July 31, 1997
Attached is the response from H.E.R.C. with regard to the cleaning and lining of the Innsbruck
and Argonne water mains.
It is my opinion that lining the pipes will eliminate the colored water problems that are being
experienced in this area. The Argonne line should be cleaned as the flow is very restricted in this
area apparently due to tuberculation, in the line.
As we will need to excavate at everY valve in order for the lining process to be done, we will be
replacing all the valves with new valves. When complete, this will essentially be a new main and
should last another 30-50 years. ~
There is $60,000 budgeted in the'Water Capital Improvement Fund for water main cleaning. The
overall cost to clean and line the Argonne main and to line the Innsbruck main is $77,785. There
are sufficient available budgeted funds in that the master water meter will not be replaced this
year.
It is my recommendation that the proposal be accepted.
· ,07/23/97 13:04 FAX 9108581169~ HERC-GREENSBORO ~%
July 23,1997
PRODUCTS INCORPORATED
Mr. Mark Winson
Public Works Director/City Engineer
City of Columbia Heights
637 38~ Ave. NE
Columbia Heights, MN 55421
VIA FACSIMILE
RE: Additional Potable Water Line Rehabilitation Services
Dear Mr. Mark:
Thanks for your letter dated July 11, ,1997. We have had a chance to digest the situation concerning the
incidence of continued red water complaints in the Innsbruck Parkway area and agree that the best way
to assure total elimination of furl. her (or continued) problems will be to go back and complete the cleaning
and than apply our epoxy coating to the inside of the pipes.
in order to save time we Will, via this letter, provide the City with our firm price quotation to re-clean (at our
expense) and epoxy line the Innsbruck Parkway area. as well as clean and epoxy line the Argonne Dr.
water main. The cleaning will be performed with our rack feed bodng machine. Our pdce quotation is
provided in attachment "A' of this letter. Note that it will be necessary for Herc to have a finn commitment
from the City to epoxy [[ne both the Innsbruck Parkway and Argonne Dr. areas before we can mobilize to
Columbia Heights. At this point, we have a potential scheduling conflict during the month of September,
however the sooner the City can commit to Hem the above scope the quicker we can work to resolve the
scheduling conflict, i
Concerning the City's request for Hen:; to produce a letter to the residence of the Innsbruck Parkway area
we are comfortable with the rewording shown in attachment "Bm. Additionally, Herc can only agree to
c~ntinue to cover the cost of the corrosion inhibitom through September 30, 1997. We understand the
potentJal issues that this may cause however, if the City elects to retain Hem to epoxy line the tnnsbruck
area the inhibitors would no longer be required to sequester red water. Lastly, even though the
Innsbruck Path/cay water main has !some residual tuberculation remaining it is obvious that the water
flows have greatly increased, which !as we understand it was the original goal of the project ~ increased
"O' factors. We must respectfully ask that the City remember how difficult it was t~ maintain high flow
rates of the Pipe-I/Jean cleaning soldtion in several areas because of faulty water main valves. It is likely
that the residual material is a result of our inability to run the recirculation unit at high speed because of
this water valve problem.
North Carolina Office: 2 Centervtew Dr,, Ptnehurs[ Bldg. Suite 52, Greensboro, North Carolina 27407, (910) 856-1611, Fax: (910) 855-3126
Corporate Office: 2202 W. Cactus Drive * Phoenix. Arizona 85027 · (602) 492-0338 * Fax: (602) 233-1107
07/25/97 15:04 FAX 9108561169 HERC-GREENSBOR0
We remain committed to maintaining a positive relationship with the City of Columbia Heights, and are
certain that Herc's Cleaning and Epoxy Lining seduces will get the City the results that you desire in both
the Innsbruck and Argonne Dr. areas.
Sincerely,
HERC PRODUCTS INC.
Darin H Thomas
Division Manager-Industrial Products Group
DHT/hms ;
cc: Myron Shenkiryk-Hem
Steve Carl - Herc
attachments
'0?/25/97
15:04
FA~ 9108561169
HERC-GREENSBORO
A TTACHMENTAo
innsbruck Parkway Area
Re-Clean & Epoxy Line Price Quotation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
t0
Mobilization
Planning & Engineering
On-Site Supervision
Temporary Water Lines
Disinfection of Temp. Lines
Pipe Cleaning Pow'er Boring ~
Excavation & V~l've Replacement
(10 Excavations' ~ pits estimate onlyl)
Epoxy Lini~b
6"
CCTV
Disinfection & Testing
Total Cost of Project
Total Cost Per Linear Foot
Lump Sum
Lump Sum
Lump Sum
2,640 If x $2.50/tf
2,640 If x $.50/If
/'
2,640 if x $8.50tlf
By City of Columbia Heights
2,640 If x $13.00/1f
2,640 If x $1.00/If
By City of Columbia Heights
$1,500
$1,000
$1,000
N/C
N/C
N/C
$0
$34,320
N/C
$0
37,820
$ 14.33
~7/23/~7
13:04 FAX
9108561169
HERC-GREENSBORO
A TTACIYMENT A.-Cont.
Arcjonne Dr. Area
Clean & Epoxy Line Price Quotation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Mobilization
Planning & Engineering
'On-Site Supervision
Temporary Water Lines
Disinfection of Temp. Lines':
Pipe Cleaning Power Boring
Excavation & Valve Replacement
(7 Excavations pits estimatel only!)
8 Epoxy Lining
6"
9 CCTV
10 Disinfection & Testing
Total Cost of Project
Lump Sum
Lump Sum
Lump Sum
1,430 If x $2.50tlf
1,430 if x $.50/If /
1,430 Ifx $8.50ftf
By City of Columbia Heights
1,430 If x $13.00/If
i,430 If x $1.00/lf
By City of Columbia Heights
Total Cost Per Linear Foot
$1,500
$1,000
$1,000
$3,575
$715
$12,155
$0
$18,590
$1,430
$0
$39,965
$27.95
,97/23/97 13:04 FAX 9105561169
HERC-GREENSBORO ~06
A T, rACHMENT B.
Dear Innsbruck Area Resident!
In 1996, H,ERC, was contracted by the City of Columbia Heights to clean the water main
that serves your home of iron tuberculation in order to improve flows through these dirty
pipes. Iron tuberculation is a naturally forming growth in water mains over time. In the case
of the water main serving your home, the iron tuberculation had decreased the interior size
of the pipe to the point where it was restricting the flow of water.
In the past, the methods generally used to correct this situation have been expensive
replacement of the lines. Most replacement methods are expensive, time consuming and
require extensive excavation 'and disruption to the area. The process used by H.E.R.C.
involved circulating a cleaning solution through the water mains to soften and flush out the
iron tuberculation. '~
During September, 1996, this iprocess was used to clean the water mains in the lnnsbruck
area. For the most part the Cleaning process was successful. Water flow in the line is
significantly greater than before the cleaning process was done.
Unfortunately, many of you have experienced an ongoing or reoccurring problem with
discolored water since the time of the cleaning. The discoloration is iron oxide or, as
commonly referred to as, rust.: The City has monitored the water on a continuous basis to
assure that it meets health department standards for potable water. City and HE.R.C. have
been investigating the cause of this discoloration.
it would appear that the disCOloration water is caused by one or more of the following
conditions: ~
1. Incomplete cleaning of some of the lines potentially due to some faulty valves in the
Innsbruck water lines which at times prevented H.E.R.C from running the recirculation
units at maximum speed. ;
2. Rust deposits from lines outside of the area that was cleaned that are being scoured due
to the increased flow through newly cleaned lines
3. Formation of new rust on the bare metal surface exposed in the pipes due to the cleaning
process.
During a water break repair operation the City removed a portion of the cleaned line and it
was found that this portion still contained a coating of iron tuberculation, It is thought that
this condition is localized and is not representative of the entire section of lines that were
cleaned. Currently H.E.R,C. iand the City are working on a plan that will have H.ER.C
returning to Columbia Heights to televise all of the line that was cleaned. Any sections found
to contain these iron deposits Will be cleaned. Additionally, to prevent any future re-cjrowth
of these deposits H.E.R.C. ,Mil be applying thin plastic coating to the insides of the pips.
This operation will involve putting all the affected homes on a temporary water system again
for a period of time, The City and H.ER.C. are in the process of determining the exact dates
'07/23/9? 13: 0~ FA.'f 9105561169; I4ERC-GREENSBORO [~ 07
of this operation, but it is expeCted at this point to occur in September of this year. You will
be notified of the exact dates when they are determined.
We at HER.C. want to assure you that we are committed to helping the City to provide you
with the best possible quality of water for your needs.
Sincerely, ~
HER.C, Products Inc.
07/23/97
13;04
FAX 9105,561169
HERC-GREENSBORO