By Elisabeth Strillacci

KANNAPOLIS — The city council Monday night addressed project approval and funding for the less than pretty but so essential work on the Downtown Sewer Outfall Rehabilitation project.

The contract was awarded to the low bidder, Carolina Siteworks, Inc. for $3,723,313, but nearly half of that will come from previous unspent bond funds.

The project, according to staff reports, is “required to create gravity sewer conveyance capacity for Block 5, Block 6, Plant 4 site, the old Post Office site, residential project at Vance and W D Street and further redevelopment of areas in the downtown area.”

Carolina Siteworks will take on the replacement and/or rehabilitation of 4,929 linear feet, or nearly one mile of 18-inch pipe and just over 200 feet of 24-inch pipe. Both are significant improvements over the current piping which ranges in width from six to 24 inches and is about 72 years old.

Because of its age and its initial narrow width, that has been further narrowed and damaged by age and use, the current piping allows significant rainwater to seep in and is at capacity. The new pipe will eliminate essentially all inflow of rainwater.

All of the new pipe along the near one-mile stretch will now be one size, 18 inches, instead of a mixed bag of sizes, and that width is enough to support not only the growth that has already happened in downtown’s core, but the anticipated growth around it.

The final discharge of the downtown sewer lines are also to be moved. Currently they are attached to the city’s 2-inch gravity outfall, but this project will move them to the WSACC Interceptor, giving relief to the city’s outfall which is nearing capacity.

“This project was identified in the 2018 Water and Sewer Fund CIP Update as one of the top priorities for the Utility System,” said the report, and seven years later it is being taken care of.

The budget amendment that was adopted to provide the funds for this project require a transfer from the fund balance, and into the Capital Projects Fund, $1,639,254. The approximate $1.4 million balance will come from unused bond monies.

As noted in the report, prepared for the council by Finance Director Brian Roberts and Director of Water Resources Alex Anderson, “failure to approve this project will prohibit additional development requiring sewer capacity within portions of the downtown area.”

Council members agreed unanimously that given the work and effort put in to Downtown Kannapolis Inc. and the pride in the development for the community, addressing issues with the sewer lines is a priority.