Lead line project making progress despite pitfalls

Residents may have noticed and wondered about the strips of pavement missing out of City roads like this one missing from Madison Street. They are a result of ongoing lead water line replacement. Photo credit: Sara Swanson.

by Marsha Chartrand

The City of Manchester was able to obtain an earmark in the State of Michigan’s budget that resulted in $300,000 for lead line replacement, thanks to the efforts of State Senator Jeff Irwin.

In September, City Council agreed that the replacement of lead water lines would continue, using an outside contractor, Salenbien Excavating of Dundee, so as to speed up the process as the year draws to a close. The lead line replacement project had been named as a priority for the City of Manchester, as the DPW had been working diligently on it earlier this year, but kept getting drawn away by other important projects.

With 56 lead lines counted as remaining in the City as of November 1, Salenbien was able to complete six lead line replacements during the week of November 4. Putting two crews on the project as of November 11, the crew would attempt to finish off at least two lines per day last week. Finishing off four lines November 11–12, the hurdles began.

“We did have an issue on the west end of the community with a lead line that actually wasn’t a lead line,” explained City Manager Michael Sessions. “Our records were wrong. A question came up on pay and if Salenbien’s would be paid since they spent a majority of the day on the line, only to find out it wasn’t lead and didn’t need replaced.

“We have agreed that since it was an original line that we bid out that it’s only fair to pay them for a replacement of the lead line. This made the contractor happy, especially since it was our error,” stated Sessions.

Then, at around 9:30am on November 13, a water line along Beaufort Street was accidentally pulled out of the water main. To safely fix the issue, the City of Manchester had to depressurize the water main. Residents of this area were advised to boil water until test results demonstrated the water was safe to drink. This hurdle, of course, caused inconvenience and strain, but did not delay the project from continuing. The boil-water notice was lifted Friday, November 15.

Lead pipe replacement continued throughout the week. Currently, as of Monday, November 18, there remain 44 lead lines still to be replaced. Sessions states, “The City of Manchester is proud of its continued progress and looks forward to its completion.”

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.