Hamlin St. water main replaced

ARLINGTON By the time you read this, the water main on Hamlin Street might already be repaired.
Construction began Jan. 14, not only to replace its aging, leaky line, but also to join its dead end, at the cul-de-sac of Hamlin Street, with the dead-end water main in the adjoining Kent Ridge neighborhood.
City of Arlington Utilities Manager Jim Kelly explained that 400 feet of new pipe would be laid, at a cost of approximately $55,000, to eliminate the dead-ends by creating a continuous water main loop for those streets.
We had to take emergency action, Kelly said. This will not only improve the water quality, but also extend our services.
City of Arlington Public Works Director Len Olive elaborated on the benefits to water users on Hamlin Street and in Kent Ridge.
It gives our customers there an extra level of reliability and redundancy, Olive said. Everyone will be fed water from two different directions, which gives us and them more flexibility, when it comes to being affected by repairs. If one side of the water main is being repaired, customers could still receive water from the other side. It allows us to perform maintenance with the least amount of inconvenience and the fewest number of people going without water.
At the Jan. 7 City Council meeting, city of Arlington Attorney Steven Peiffle received permission from the Council to work out the details of the 20-foot-wide utility easement, necessary to perform the line repairs and joining, with the owners of the property between the cul-de-sac of Hamlin Street and the Kent Ridge neighborhood.
The Crofts were willing to allow the easement for the line, Peiffle said. It was simply a matter of adding some language, so the Council gave me permission to fix the wording to be acceptable to the land owners, without having to come back to the Council for further approval.
As of Jan. 15, Kelly estimated that construction should be complete by next week.

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