As a precautionary measure, the Newcastle City Council has continued discussion and study on a final plat for phase 1 of a housing addition. They’ve done so for two meetings in order to have the City engineer do more study on water in the area.
After the City Council tabled a final plat for Chickasaw Crossing at their May meeting, the City took up discussion at their June meeting, but again determined that more study and discussion should take place about water capacity in the southwest quadrant of Newcastle. Engineers disagreed about their studies of hydrology in the area, and the item was again tabled to be taken up at the July meeting.
The area under study is from State Highway 130 to S.W. 24th Street to the north and south, and from State Highway 62 to State Highway 76 to the east and west.
Kendall Dillon, an engineer for the Chickasaw Crossing Phase 1 development, said his water analysis show no adverse impact in the area. This is in contrast with a report from the City of Newcastle engineer Kenny Sullivan, who said there had been complaints of poor water pressure in the area already.
Sullivan said he believes that by adding another 120 lots at Chickasaw Crossing there will be an additional impact on the other housing additions in the area. City Council member Marci White said she has heard citizen complaints about water pressure in the nearby housing additions, The Oaks and Richland Park. There also was concern about water pressure at Timber Ridge.
Mayor Karl Nail said whatever the City does, he wants to make sure there is no detectable or indetectable drop in pressure in the area during the peak summer months.
During discussion, Sullivan said he believes the area needs a new booster station with three pumps, and to upgrade the pumps would cost $25,000 to $50,000 per pump. He said if the City were to add a booster station in the area, the City would be looking at more than $1 million. Also needed, he said, are larger lines which are looping through the area.
Sullivan said another recommendation is for the developer to pay for a portion of the upgrades. He added that he had talked with the developer’s engineer, and he found that they are tying in to an existing four-inch line, and this addition will help make the water pressure change minimal.
This would only be temporary, however, as Phase II of Chickasaw Crossing had already been initially planned to be constructed in about 18 months, according to Dillon, and then it would take one year to build out. Dillon told the Council he was concerned about the developer paying towards pumps or a booster station because any upgrades would serve not only the Chickasaw Crossing developments, but also other housing developments in the area.
Dillon said he would like to have more information and any additional requirements from the City including that he can take back to the developer. While the council couldn’t definitively answer that question at the June meeting, Nail did have some concluding remarks.
He said, “We are putting in an addition where we already don’t have adequate service capacity without some improvement. Just allowing you to come in there and hook on to the existing system where there is not adequate service, that’s my problem.
“I’m just asking for you to pay your own way in infrastructure. Any way we can work together on this, I’m all for. I just want to make sure the City and the citizens are made whole.”
Nail said if the City and proposed additions were five or six years down the road, the City wouldn’t be having this issue. He said with the hospital to be built, there is the possibility of a new water tower which will service the area. This would upgrade pressure throughout.
No action was taken by the Council. Again, they plan to discuss further at the July meeting.
