Flowing forward From the cover
At a glance
Water and sewer lines in Tamina Existing lines New lines
New lift stations
Tamina boundary
A $21 million project that launched in 2023 to provide water and sewer services to the community of Tamina is nearing completion this year. The project will allow Shenandoah to provide services to property owners and businesses in the community of around 1,000 residents. The project is close to completion as Phase 2 is currently underway, per Shenandoah o cials. The lines were completed on the west and northeast side of Tamina as of Jan. 7, interim City Manager Joseph Peart said. The six projects remaining for Phase 2 include $5.16 million for two contracts with ISJ Underground to install underground utilities as well as sanitary manholes and re hydrants on the eastern side of the project, which extends to Sleepy Hollow and Main Street. Interim Director of Public Works Rual Porras told residents at the Jan. 22 Tamina community meeting that plumbing connections will take place from April to September. This will include a change in how meters are read, allowing residents to look at how much water they use through a phone app. “If you have a leak, it’s going to be able to detect that leak, let you know, and let us know as soon as possible so you can get xed,” Porras said.
HOLLIS RD.
Sweet Rest Cemetery
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Average monthly water rates Previous service: $38.38/month New city service: $20.91/month
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SOURCE: CITY OF SHENANDOAH COMMUNITY IMPACT
By the numbers
How we got here
Put in perspective
$21M: Total project cost $14.21M: Amount spent as of February 220: Households on the system 56,200 square feet: Combined sewer and water line length
Several Tamina residents said they have been concerned about construction safety and cleanup near their homes as the project progresses. Many residents, including Rita Wiltz, have spoken about construction near their homes at monthly Tamina community meetings attended by representatives from the city and Bleyl. For example, residents reported a hole on the ground near a bus stop without any protection around it. “I went out there … trying to make sure none of [the kids] fell in the holes because at the time they were doing [construction], the kids were getting off the bus,” said Wiltz, a Tamina resident and founder of Tamina nonprofit Children’s Books on Wheels. Porras said at the January meeting that the city will let the contractors know to put a safety net around the area. The community’s next meeting will be Feb. 23 at Tamina Park.
Following a joint effort between Montgomery County and the city that began in 2022, $21 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds were allocated by the county to bring new water and sewer infrastructure into the unincorporated community of Tamina. The city hired Bleyl Engineering to manage the design and construction of a sanitary sewer system and a new water system. John Bleyl, president and CEO of Bleyl Engi- neering, said while the project is proceeding on schedule, there have been some issues regarding groundwater as the area is flat, providing a chal- lenge for deeper lines. “We encountered more groundwater than was anticipated,” Bleyl said. “And so that just meant that the contractor had to do more well-pointing. That’s a technique to take the water out of the ground wherever you’re working so you can finish the work. It’s a flat area like most of south Mont- gomery County. It’s not well-drained really, as far
SOURCE: CITY OF SHENANDOAH/COMMUNITY IMPACT
as rainfall runoff, but the groundwater was worse than what anybody anticipated.” Despite some additional costs, the project remains on budget, officials said. Unexpected costs included removing water during the instal- lation of life stations, manholes and conveyance lines, Peart said. “There were [also] some unexpected costs associated with extending water and sewer lines beneath the railroad,” he said.
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