Block-by-block, Waynesboro is making millions of dollars in upgrades to its public water system. The multi-year project aims to improve flow and pressure, but the improvements mean far more than just convenience.
Several years ago, Waynesboro committed roughly $7 million to the water project. It is gradually bringing improvements all over town, most notably in the Tree Streets neighborhood. The current phase of the project has public works crews installing some 3,000 feet worth of piping underground.
The old, narrow main lines are bypassed in favor of new ones that are eight inches wide. Neighbors and firefighters have long complained of low water flow in the tree streets like Cherry, Locust and Maple Avenues.
Waynesboro Maintenance Supervisor Roger Fitzgerald said, "It's a lot of undersized lines out in this area. A lot of four inch, three quarter inch, stuff like that that we are trying to upgrade and improve. Everyday we are out here trying to improve the flow and volume... Help the citizens out."
Waynesboro is doing the work on a pay-as-you-go basis, using money collected from utility bills paid by the city's public water customers. A fire in 2007 exposed the shortcomings of the old water lines, when firefighters had trouble getting water to the third floor of an apartment building.
This project is ongoing, but the fire chief says it has already made a significant improvement.
