Development prompts Port sewer, water utility study

The City of Port Washington is poised to hire an engineering firm to evaluate its sewer and water utilities as it considers ways to service future development.

The Board of Public Works on Tuesday recommended the city hire Strand Engineering at a cost of $114,000 to conduct the study, which will look at everything from the ability of the sanitary sewer system to handle the demands of growth to the ability to provide water service north of I-43.

The study will also look at ways to pay for any needed expansion, Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said.

“We’re on the verge of experiencing growth in the city on all three sides,” he said.

The city is currently experiencing a significant amount of residential growth on its west and south sides, and a large industrial development has been proposed on the north side of the city — north of I-43 in the Knellsville area of the Town of Port, on land that would be annexed into the city.

While the city realizes some of its sewer systems are at capacity, he said, there may be others that are at or near capacity that officials aren’t aware of.

In addition, some residents have experienced flooding and sewer back ups during significant rainfalls, indicating issues that need to be addressed, Vanden Noven said.

“I’m sure this is going to bring to light some additional areas and issues,” he said. 

The last evaluation of the system was in 2013, he said, and it primarily looked at infiltration and inflow issues in the sewer system.

All the items mentioned in that study have been addressed.

As part of the study, Strand will also provide the city with a mechanism to recoup the cost of utility expansion needed for growth, Vanden Noven said.

That’s likely to take the form of an impact fee, he said.

“The new development would pay for the work to accommodate that growth,” Vanden Noven said.

Ald. John Sigwart, a member of the board, said the study is “the most comprehensive, detailed collection study I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s what we needed a decade ago,” he said.

Although the cost of the study is significant, he said, it pales in relation to the tens of millions of dollars the city has invested in its utilities.

“This information is going to become really important as the city expands,” he said.

The Common Council is expected to consider the study when it meets Tuesday, Dec. 21.