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August-September 2014 | BusinessWorld | 6
frastructure, according to Water/Irrigation
DivisionManagerDaveBrown.
He said some cast-iron mains need to be
replaced more for water quality issues than
imminent failures, and cited both a rebuilt
irrigation system that's “in pretty good
shape” and a rebuilt treatment plant that's
“almost new.”
The city's growth in both population and
footprint has meant new strain on
wastewater capabilities, prompting the
replacement of original clay pipes in some
areas that dated back to the 1930s, said
Shelley Wilson, Yakima's wastewater
manager. But the wastewater treatment
facility is functioning well, she said, and
quite a bit of building on the site has led to
improved and reconfiguredprocesses.
Where the blend of age and capacity is most
being felt, it seems, is onYakima's roads.
“We have a lot of roads that are old and in
not super great shape,”Chief Engineer Brett
Sheffield said. “In the last couple years we
have done two relatively large grind and
overlay projects which have covered about
120 lane miles. We've gone and repaired the
roads that are in the worst shape, mainly
focusing on arterials and collectors.
“We still do have a lot of local access roads
that aren't in very good shape. But our new
city manager has some good ideas and is
really trying to improve the serviceability of
our roads.”
Cook said City Manager Tony O'Rourke
indeed arrived just more than two years ago
and soon after put together a survey for
residents, which ultimately yielded a
response that gave alarmingly low marks to
road quality. As a result, the city embarked
upon a program that paved between 25 and
30 lane miles last year and set an ambitious
goal of 92 miles to be worked on this
summer.
The paving season in Yakima runs from
April to November, so the sheer volume of
work in such a narrowtimeframewill lead to
headaches, but, Cook said, “It's going to be
really nicewhen it's done.”