The city has embarked on an ambitious and lengthy $5.5 million water and sewer Main Replacement project in Point Loma. Officially called the Famosa Accelerated Water and Sewer Main Replacement, the project has an estimated completion date of September 2010. “Once the project is completed,” said city public information officer assistant Rebecca Pond, “the community will experience improved and more reliable water and sewer main systems. Also, it will reduce the maintenance cost of the upgraded infrastructure.” According to city officials, workers will replace 8,701 feet of existing vitrified clay sewer mains and 11,209 feet of cast-iron water mains. Curb ramps will also be installed and the affected streets will be resurfaced. “The water and sewer pipelines are being upgraded now due to age of the existing pipes and the frequency of water main breaks,” Pond said. According to a flier mailed to residents in affected areas, the sewer and water mains have reached the end of their service life. Pond said that the cast-iron water mains specifically have been in service for 60 to 80 years and have deteriorated to the point where water main breaks are now occurring frequently. The iron and clay mains are being replaced with industry standard PVC pipe. According to Pond, this material is more reliable and durable and is resistant to the root blockages and deterioration that the old materials were susceptible to. The estimated 14-month project will involve open-trench replacement of the existing pipelines. According to Pond, the sewer pipeline will be replaced before the water pipeline so that parallel trenches are not opened within the same street in order to allow traffic to flow uninterrupted. According to Pond, the total cost of the project is set at $5,524,815 – a figure that includes design, construction and inspection. The money for the project comes from the city’s Annual Allocation for Sewer and Water Main Replacements Accelerated Projects fund. Work will occur along West Point Loma Boulevard, Famosa Boulevard, Valeta Street, Montalvo Street, Mentone Street, Temecula Street, Rialto Street. Clovis Street, Camulos Street and the alley north of Montalvo Street between West Point Loma Boulevard and Clovis Street. Residents in these areas have been notified of the construction, according to city officials. “Anticipated impacts during construction hours may include noise, dust, parking disruptions and traffic delays,” Pond said. “City-approved measures will be implemented by the contractor to ensure pedestrian safety and continued vehicle access.” Residents in the affected areas will also have temporary water outages twice within the duration of the project — one near the beginning of the construction and one near the end. Pond said residents subject to the outages will receive notification and door hangers in advance and that the notices usually arrive about a week in advance. For more information, visit www.sandiego.gov/water/cip/group or call the city’s Water and Waste-water Information Line at (858) 573-5081. Construction-related issues can be reported to the Water Department’s 24-hour Emergency Services line at (619) 515-3525.