Melvindale lagging on lead line replacement

 

Grant funding will replace park equipment

By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers

MELVINDALE – While water sampling continues to confirm the safety of city water, Department of Public Works Director Larrie Ordus said crews are behind schedule on lead and copper service line replacement.

“Last year, COVID put everybody behind,” he said. “Right now, we have to tell everybody that we are in violation, because we were supposed to do 97 (lines) last year and we’ve done 23, which wasn’t bad, considering the crisis of the COVID.

“This year, the good news is we passed our water test with flying colors, so now we are down to 50 yearly that we have to change, which puts us at 97 now, for this year, because they carried the ones from last year that we didn’t get yet.”

Ordus said with the way that things are going this year, his crew might not complete the replacement of all 97 water service lines, but he believes that it will be acceptable for the remaining services lines to be carried over into the next year.

“I just wanted to let everyone know that we are a little behind, but we have 20 years to do it, and we have a quarter that we have to make yearly, and last year, we didn’t make the 70 that we were supposed to get,” he said.

Ordus said he has 30 households which have been notified and signed authorization letters, and he hopes to be able to hired additional personnel as planned, which he said is an additional challenge.

Grants will fund new park equipment

Ordus said grant money will provide new park equipment, beginning in Palmer Park, with Fisher Park second on the schedule, followed by Kennedy and Coogan parks, and then DeLuca Field.

“Just so you know, the parks are going to be down for a while,” he said. “We have to tear out all the equipment, and they have to come and put the new equipment in, so, we are hoping by the end of May, everything will be installed at all the parks.”