Saltville gets help to replace failing water line

The Smyth County School Board voted this week to help Saltville officials, many of the town’s businesses and residents, as well as one of the county schools, by approving a water line easement request from the town.

The board will allow the town to install a few feet inside the northern edge of the Northwood High School property a new water line replacing the dilapidated line along nearby Steer Lane.

School Superintendent Dr. Mike Robinson told the school board the town wants to build the new line across part of the NHS property instead of shutting off the Steer Lane line while it is replaced, a move that would leave businesses, residents and NHS out of water for the duration of the replacement.

Building a new line bypassing the old eliminates the temporary outage.

Tuesday night, Saltville Town Manager Mike Taylor told the town council that all hurdles to building the line were being crossed, citing the school board, health department and right of way requirements. “Everyone is going out of their way to accommodate the town,” he said. Taylor said he expects that ground will be broken in two to three weeks.

Discussion of recurring leaks in the Steer Lane water line was added late to the Saltville Town Council’s agenda last month. The council wasted no time before authorizing Taylor to get bids from three engineering firms for plans to replace the line.

A December report from the public works department to the council showed 50,000 gallons leaking from the Steer Lane line on two separate days.

Taylor said last month line replacement was on water project lists 31 years ago, 17 years ago and two years ago, but grants for the project were never awarded.

Escaping water recently inundated the Museum of the Middle Appalachians, flooding its floors. Steer Lane passes behind the museum and stores fronting Main Street at the foot of Northwood High School’s hill.

Taylor last month said the cost for replacement of the line could be between $60,000 and $100,000 or higher.

Acknowledging the cost, council member Todd Young led the council to action. “We have to do it,” he said. “There are too many businesses, the museum, the school, counting on it.”

Taylor said the town has a pair of certificates of deposit, one of which is for $100,000, that could be tapped.

“We’ve got to address this,” Young said, moving to authorize Taylor “to go ahead and fix it,” starting with learning the cost and contacting engineering firms. “Then we’ll meet and decide how to pay for it.”

Stephanie Porter-Nichols contributed.