 |
| Peaceful Pond by Herb Smith (at Spring Lake Natural Area) |
SMGA was very pleased to hear that the wastewater line will no longer go through Spring Lake Natural Area. We thank everyone for contacting city staff and council to express concern over this wastewater line. Here is our letter to the mayor, council, and city staff in response to the recent news that the city is evaluating making improvements to Sessom downstream lines instead of building the Sink Creek Interceptor Phase II project:
Thank you for the time and energy that you invested in the Sink Creek Wastewater Interceptor Line, Phase Two project. The San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance appreciates your forethought to step back and consider alternative routes, and welcome the results of the peer review presented at the council meeting on November 15. The proposed alternate route will save money, improve existing infrastructure, protect water quality, and preserve the Spring Lake Natural Area. We look forward to continuing to work with the City to protect San Marcos's natural areas and quality of life for this and future generations.
Respectfully,
Maggie Hutchins
San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance
http://smgreenbelt.org
And here is an email from city engineer Jennifer Shell with details behind the change in plans:
At the November 15 City Council meeting, City staff presented the findings of a Peer Review of the Sink Creek Phase II Wastewater Interceptor Project. The study was performed by K. Friese and Associates of Austin, Texas. The proposed project was evaluated for alignment, line size, and flow information and whether the interceptor would provide the capacity needed in the N. LBJ Drive/ Rogers Ridge area currently served by the Sessom Creek Sewer Shed.
The study concluded that:
1. If the Sink Creek Interceptor was built, the City would still need to make improvements to the Sessom Creek Sewer Shed existing infrastructure.
2. The City could realize significant cost savings and gain the capacity needed by making improvements to Sessom downstream lines instead of building the Sink Creek Interceptor Phase II project.
The City is now moving forward with an analysis of the Sessom Creek downstream lines to establish if bypass lines could be built to move the existing lines away from the San Marcos River and to what size the existing lines should be increased. A final alignment will be complete in December, and design will begin in January, 2012. We expect to incorporate portions of the construction into other projects. For example, the N LBJ Reconstruction Project could include a new wastewater line and the Downtown Redevelopment Project could include a new wastewater line. All construction should be complete by 2014.
If you have additional questions or would like more information, please feel free to contact us at the Engineering and CIP Department by phone at 393-8130 or email CIP@sanmarcostx.govby Maggie Hutchins-Wagner, SMGA Board Member
We greatly appreciate your input and patience through this process.
Thank you,
Jennifer Shell, P.E.
City Engineer
