ASHLAND — Ashland City Council wants to know if its water infrastructure can handle expected housing developments in the southwest portion of the city.
Council unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that allows city officials to enter into a contract worth up to $272,000 with MS Consultants, the firm tapped to complete a “Water and Sanitary Sewer Capacity Analysis.”
To do this, the company, based in Akron, will place 20 flow meters and two rain gauges in various manholes near the intersections of Mifflin Avenue and U.S. Route 42, Smith and Baney roads and King Road, said Ashland Mayor Matt Miller.
The mayor said the city has been busy working with three developers who want to bring a variety of housing to Ashland. One of those is Brandon Hunsinger, a Mansfield developer with plans to bring 123 townhouse units to farmland at the intersection of Smith and Baney roads.
Two other sites are being eyed on land west of Smith Road and another near the intersection of Mifflin Avenue and U.S. Route 42. Miller did not provide additional information on those prospective developments.
Before those projects go “online,” he said, the city needs to take inventory on any needed modifications to the water and sewer infrastructure.
“After all, that’s adding a lot of additional housing units and a lot of extra flow during rain events and when we have dry days,” Miller said.
He said the city expects some issues. For example, there could be spots around the prospective sites where there is a 15-inch pipe that flows into a 10-inch pipe.
“So those would be places that if we’re adding another 500 homes, chances are, we’re going to have to upsize that utility or that pipe underground,” he said. “Our hope is that this study will show us where those problem areas might be and where we need to make improvements before all those housing developments come online.”
According to the contract, which has not been finalized, the firm would spend three months to measure flow at the designated spots. If there isn’t enough rain, the city may decide to pay for another month to collect more information with the meters.
If that happens, the city would be charged $36,283, according to the contract.
Miller said the study will be paid for using funds from the city’s water and wastewater budget.
Shane Kremser, the city’s engineer, said the contract with MS Consultants is still under review by other city officials. He didn’t have a timeline, but said he hopes to finalize it soon in order to get flow monitors in place.
“We’re passed March and April, which have the most rain,” said Kremser. “So we’re hoping we can get some rain to get enough data.”
The city underwent a similar study along the U.S. Route 250 corridor a couple years ago. That study found the existing 12-inch waterline was not big enough to handle flow.
“And we were just alerted of the fact that we’ve been awarded a $550,000 grant to upsize the line out there,” Miller said.
Council voted unanimously in favor of allowing city officials to advertise for bids on that project, which involves removing 2,000 feet of a 12-inch sanitary sewer collection main and replacing it with a 15-inch pipe.