The Manhasset-Lakeview Water District is preparing Plandome Heights residents for a spring of disruption as it gears up for a three-month long water main pipe replacement in the area.
MLWD officials said the project, although disruptive, will improve hydraulics, water pressure and water quality.
Although residents took positively to the idea, some were leary about the impact it’ll will have on their daily quality of life.
“I have a new sidewalk which will be dug up. I also would like to have access to my own home,” Nickita Mik said.
The roughly 2,700 feet project will run from Summit Drive right into and around Grandview Circle.
A representative from H2M architects+engineers, a consulting engineering firm in Melville hired by MLWD to oversee the project proposal and bidding, said the pipes are old and they need to be changed.
“We’ve been talking about the project for a while and there’s a reason this project is being developed the way it is,” MLWD Superintendent Paul Schrader said.
If contractors dig the main pipes down the center of the street which is very expensive, the entire streets would have to be shut down, he said.
“We’re replacing the pipes because they’re old and they can be a liability,” Schrader added.
“Will you be digging on the inside of the sidewalks?” asked a female resident who asked not to be identified.
“We may, because that’s where some of the curbstops are,” said Robert Lucas, who is an assistant vice president at H2M. “After the pipeline replacement, whatever sidewalk is dug up will be fixed.”
The pipe replacements will be changed up to the curbstop.
From there on, homeowners will have to make pipe replacements to their own home, which can run up to $10,000 according to Lucas.
Village of Plandome Heights Mayor Kenneth Riscica said the district is being mandated by the Nassau County to change the pipes, which were laid in the 1930s.
With the ongoing issues in Flint, Mich., the MLWD is also cautioning residents to change pipes that transport water throughout the house.
“Anything other than copper, we recommend you replace it right about the time the project is completed so that you can see changes in water being delivered to your house,” Lucas said.
The current pipeline serving the Plandome Heights area were installed in the 1920s and are possibly corrosive with lead and will need replacement, he said.
Schrader admitted that there will be challenges satisfying every property owner’s request as construction moves forward but that contractors will try their best to fix anything damaged during or after construction.
“I want to conclude to say that we’ve done this before. We did this project on Bay Driveway and we’ve done this with engineers from H2N. While the project will be a disruptive one, it will be a successful one,” Schrader said.
