Friday, July 16, 2010

Wasterwater Relocation: SURVEY

This survey has been closed. Original questions follow.

Willowbrook Reach - Wastewater Line Relocation Survey

The City of Austin (COA) must relocate the wastewater lines that are currently exposed at three stream crossing locations along the Willowbrook Reach. At the request of COA, Raymond Chan & Associates prepared preliminary designs of FOUR wastewater relocation alternatives. Please review the four alternatives and the pros and cons of each at URL before participating in this survey. Please be aware that all four alternatives result in one wastewater line crossing the creek, rather than three.

NOTE: The information we collect from this survey will be used to support ONE of these alternatives. The COA will move forward with the recommendation that we make as a neighborhood.

YOUR INPUT IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!
* Required

1) Two of the alternative designs call for placing the new wasterwater lines within the Reach greenbelt. This would require trenching of the greenbelt itself. These two options are cheaper. *
  • I would support these option, even though it will require trenching and potential tree removal in the Reach.
  • I do not support these options.

2) Two of the alternatives call for placing the new wasterwater lines under Willowbrook and Sycamore streets, meaning the COA would tear up the streets. These two options are more expensive. *
  • I support these options, even though there may be inconvenience due to greater street work.
  • I do not support these options.
3) Would you support the construction of a pedestrian bridge on over the Reach? * Note: It's possible that a bridge could be build over the Reach. This bridge must be constructed outside of the 100 year floodplain, and may require ADA accessible entrance sidewalks. These qualities may be negotiable.
  • I support the idea of a bridge.
  • I do not support the idea of a bridge.
4) Please indicate which alternative you prefer. *
  • Alternative 1. Pipe relocation in greenbelt with one pipe crossing at southernmost bend in the creek.
  • Alternative 2. Pipe relocation in the street with pipe crossing at the southernmost bend in the creek.
  • Alternative 3. Pipe relocation within the greenbelt with pipe crossing upstream off Sycamore Dr. (This alternative has been scoped out with a pedestrian bridge.)
  • Alternative 4. Pipe relocation in the streets with one pipe crossing at the bottom of the greenbelt near 38.5 Street and Brookview.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A bridge would be nice, but probably is too costly and would require too much concrete.

Anonymous said...

I think the short term inconvenience of the lines being located in the street is well worth the the long term gains.

It doesn't make sense in the scheme of the EPA initiative to dig everything up and relocate the waste water lines in the flood plain. It just creates a future problem waiting to happen when they begin to leak.

Anonymous said...

I am excited by the vision of this site as a model for the sustainment of urban wildlife and model planting practices. The less we disturb the creek the better!

Anonymous said...

Options 2 and 4 are the ones most likely to preserve the habitat and wildlife in the creek, as they would be located in the street. That means any future leaks could be repaired with less destruction to the greenbelt. (Options 1 and 3 would run down in the greenbelt itself.)

Option 3 also isn't feasible, because a pedestrian bridge would need to be very long and wide to be outside the 100-year floodplain, and wheelchair accessible, as required by the city.

Option 2 seems the best, because Option 4 appears to entail a small dam-like structure in the creekbed, which could cause consequences with creek flow.

We are fortunate to have this treasure of a natural habitat in the urban landscape, and to be stewards of the land and the wildlife. Protecting it should be the focus of any project.

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