The City of Bainbridge is in the finishing stages of completing the Lake Douglas Sewer Extension Project that has been going on now, closing parts of roads in the Lake Douglas area since mid-2011.
The city informed residents of Lake Douglas through a letter that their area homes are now linked to the main sewer system, therefore they can connect to the main sewer if they choose to do so.
There are 237 homes that can now connect and 306 lots, Assistant City Manager Roy Oliver said. This means, for these residents, they have more options than using a septic tank from now on.
Oliver said Tuesday the project is completed but residents will still see crews at work for the next several weeks tying loose ends and putting on finishing touches like laying sod. There are more than 80 small tasks the contractors have to complete on their to-do lists and those will most likely be completed by the end of December.
“The residents are able to hook into the system now,” Oliver said. “Everything has been tested, the pumps are running, they just have to come in and pay the assessment fee to the city and a licensed plumber has to get a permit and tie them into the system.”
In a letter to residents, Oliver said each property would be assessed for $1,325 plus the required tap fee of $345 for a total of $1,670. This assessment is due when residents choose to tap into the available sewer, in addition to any plumbing permits that need to be purchased.
“The system is up and running but they have to do a lot of finish work,” Oliver said. “There is some construction debris that they have to clean up, they are still laying some sod and putting out plant material and shrubs they may have damaged. There is a punch list of items that they have to get done.”
Oliver said a portion of Lake Douglas would see more construction in the future. The portion of the road from Sarah Street to Lakewood Drive would be paved in 2014, most likely in March.
Currently the road has been patched, but workers will repave the street and finish the project.
“The street department has gone in and patched those holes they dug on that street, but it is still pretty rough,” Oliver said. “We intend to pave that stretch of road. The reason it wasn’t paved yet is because the dirt tends to settle and it is still pretty deep. That will have to be packed down again and repaved for a smooth surface.”
Oliver said the project was a slow process overall where contractors ran into many water issues along the way and it took them longer to finish than anticipated.
He said many residents have already decided to go forward with connecting their home to the sewer line.