A tale of two sewer lines

While many local residents prefer the southern route option for running Palmer's extension of water and sewer service to the new Valley Hospital site, both routes have some bumps and curves.

The more northerly route has a projected length of 5.75 miles, will require 14 acres of easements, and impact two acres of wetlands. The south route is considerably longer, with a total span of 7.24 miles and 17.6 acres of easement required. As a result of its shorter length, Hattenburg said, the northern route would cost about $500,000 less than the southern route.

The southern route has met with some difficulties in negotiations with the Department of Transportation, which is planning to expand the Glenn Highway from two to four lanes over the next few years.

"The problem with the Glenn route is that DOT doesn't want us in there," said Hattenburg, adding that the department would pave over the water and sewer line if it was placed too close to the existing highway.

Fortunately, the Alaska Railroad also runs along the proposed route, and Hattenburg said railroad officials are willing to let the city use its right-of-way for construction of the line.

Hattenburg said more survey data would be needed before a decision between route variations on the southern line could be reached.

Unfortunately, time is not on the side of the project.

"We're under a very tight timeline with this project," Hattenburg said.

Though the deadline for providing water and sewer service to the new hospital is still some time away, May 2006, preliminary engineering and environmental studies need to be approved by the USDA by Sept. 30 or funding will be lost. Design has to be completed by December, with construction starting in 2005.

A resident living on Helen Drive, a future water line along which would provide connectivity for the northern route, asked about plans to extend water service along this road regardless of the hospital plans. Palmer Public Works Superintendent Rick Koch said that a grant for this improvement had been approved during the last legislative session, but it was killed on Governor Murkowski's desk. The Helen Drive improvement is in Palmer's capital budget, however, and is slated for next summer, Koch said.

Another resident voiced concerns about whether water and sewer lines could harm water quality wherever they were placed. "One of the reasons that it's important to provide public utilities is to safeguard those resources," said Koch, adding that much more harm is done by faulty and ill-constructed independent sewer systems than public works.

"From an overall standpoint, it's good to get a good utility in there," he said.

Hattenburg said the next step is to continue with the preliminary engineering work and select one of the named alternatives.