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From YouTube: Aiken This Week - July 4, 2016: Infrastructure
Description
Engineering & Utilities Director George Grinton and Rick Toole, President of W. R. Toole Engineering, Inc., discuss specifics on the City of Aiken's infrastructure and strategies for efficiently maintaining the various facets of the City's public services.
A
Welcome
to
Aiken
this
week,
I
memory
langston
today,
our
topic
of
conversation
is
something
that
impacts
all
of
our
citizens
and
that's
our
city's
infrastructure.
My
guests
today
are
George
gruntin,
who
is
the
director
of
engineering
and
utilities
here
at
the
city
of
Aiken
and
Rick
tool?
Who
is
the
president
of
WR
tool,
engineers
incorporated
and
I?
Think
you,
gentlemen,
both
for
being
here
and
taking
a
few
minutes
out
of
your
schedule
to
talk.
B
A
City
and
it's
a
very,
very
important
issue-
I
know
our
City
Council
and
our
city
manager,
as
well
as
you,
gentlemen,
are
really
taking
a
hard
look
at
this
topic
and
it's
very
extensive.
So
we're
very
pleased
to
kind
of
get
an
overview
of
this
today
and
we'll
just
jump
right
on
in
and
get
started
and
George
we're
going
to
start
with
you.
And
what
exactly
is
the
infrastructure
that
the
city
of
Aiken
is
responsible
for
operating
and
maintaining?
Well.
C
C
It's
the
water
production
equipment,
in
addition
to
sanitary
sewer
lines,
it's
the
lift
stations
that
move
sanitary
sewer
from
lower
points
to
higher
points
where
gravity
flow
can
continue
the
effluent
moving
along
and
then
there's
roads
and
with
the
roads,
there's
stormwater,
and
so
all
of
these
make
up.
The
infrastructure
of
the
city
has
to
maintain
sure.
A
C
Let's
take
them
one
at
a
time
the
city
has
approximately
400
10
miles
of
water
lines
and
in
99
miles
of
water
service
lines
that
connect
the
the
main
line
to
the
water
meters
to
produce
the
water
that
we
distribute.
We
have
five
water
treatment
plants.
We
have
nine
water
wells
that
source
three
of
our
water
plants,
treatment
plants.
We
have
a
spring
water
source
in
a
one
surface:
water
source
of
water,
to
control
the
water
distribution
system,
there's
all
sorts
of
other
pieces
of
equipment.
C
C
That
takes
care
of
the
water,
sanitary
sewer,
a
very
similar
type
of
story.
We
have
two
hundred
eighty
two
miles
of
sanitary
sewer,
gravity
lines
and
30
miles
of
sanitary
sewer,
force
main
lines
to
maintain.
We
operate
for
tea,
set
sanitary
sewer,
lift
stations
and,
in
this
again
gets
it
to
distribute
to
the
Aiken
County
Public
Service
Authority.
They
actually
do
the
wastewater
of
treatment
of
our
effluent
connecting
to
the
sanitary
sewer
lines
we
have
6630
manholes
and
we
actually
haven't
taken.
C
A
C
The
citizens
and
they
pay
for
for
those
roads
within
the
those
storm
within
those
roads
than
stormwater
also
is
is
the
utility
that
connects
to
the
roads
and
so
the
city
of
the
85
miles
that
we
maintain
for
roads.
We
have
171
miles
of
storm
water
lines
connected
to
that
our
7475
inlets
and
catch
basins,
1904
manholes
and
junction
boxes,
and
we
have
many
miles
of
ditches
and
many
detention
ponds
to.
C
A
C
Need
to
do
there
well,
the
short
answer
is
that
we
may
need
to
maintain
the
systems
that
are
vital
services
to
our
citizens.
We
need
to
make
sure
they're
sustainable.
You
need
to
make
sure
that
they're
maintain
it
in
the
cost,
effective
manner.
There's
there's
really
two
ways
that
you
can.
You
can
maintain
any
asset
that
you
have.
C
A
C
We
you
have
the
potential,
particularly
with
water
and
sewer,
or
rather
with
storm
and
sanitary
sewers,
to
have
environmental
impacts
where
you
are
just
you're,
actually
potentially
going
to
violate
some
environmental
state
rules.
So
the
second
approach
is
to
assess
the
condition
of
the
infrastructure
that
the
right
pipes
are
maintained
at
the
right
time.
C
It
really
is
our
responsibility
to
the
community,
to
you
know,
protect
the
environment,
provide
the
the
vital
services
that
they
depend
on,
and
so,
if
you,
you
become
more
proactive.
If
you
know
more
about
your
line,
you
your
system,
you
can
maintain
them
proactively,
so
that
you
prevent
problems
from
occurring.
A
C
To
start
with,
we
are
fortunate
to
have
a
GIS
system
software
program.
It's
called
ArcGIS,
which
the
city
uses
to
identify
where
all
the
lines
are
over,
all
the
valves
or
all
the
meters
etc
are,
and
the
this
was
started
10
15
years
ago,
when
we
started
looking
at
that
that
that
gives
you
a
starting
point
of
where
everything
is.
C
We
recognize,
however,
that
we
had
a
lot
of
gaps
in
the
information,
so
this
past
year
we
have
been
taking
all
of
our
engineering
drawings,
the
development
plans,
the
the
structure,
drawings
and
we've
been
scanning
them
into
the
computer
so
that
they
could
be
digitally
connected
to
our
GIS.
We've
worked
with
consultant
to
take
the
attribute
data
from
these
drawings
so
that
they
can
be
inputted
to
the
GIS
so
that
it
is
readily
available
and.
A
Wonderful
and
being
able
to
do
something
like
that
to
hopefully
help
with
the
efficiency
and
the
effectiveness
of
making
sure
that
you're
getting
to
what
you
need
to
and
that
things
are
marked
appropriately
well,
how
do
we
know
what
the
condition
of
all
of
this
is
and
a
lot
of
it,
some
underground?
So
it's
so?
How
do
we
know
well.
C
Again,
the
short
answer:
is
we
really
don't?
What
we
really
need
to
do
is
to
understand
the
status
of
each
pipe
and
to
do
that,
we
need
to
take
on
a
methodical
assessment
program
where
we
evaluate
the
condition
of
each
component
and
determine
what
our
risks
are
with
the
various
pieces
and
and
come
up
with
a
rehabilitation
repair
program
to
ensure
that
their
sustained
and
meeting
the
citizens
needs
and
typically
you'd
start
with
your
oldest
infrastructure.
First
sure.
C
Gs
is
a
good
start
sure
we
needed
an
asset
data
management
software
program
and
we
did
purchase
info
master
from
inov
eyes
about
a
year
ago
and
what
this
software
does
is.
It
allows
us
to
examine
each
it
tracks
each
component
for
us
and
it
prioritizes
the
the
segments
for
repair
and
evaluation,
the
software
it
has
statistical
modeling
in
it,
so
it
can
take
the
attribute
data
from
GIS
and
it
can
and
this
typically
as
age
of
the
pipe,
what
the
pipe
is
made
of
how
long
it's
been
in
the
ground.
C
You
know
where
it
is
that
sort
of
thing
and
the
soil
conditions,
and
it
will
calculate
a
probability
of
any
individual
segments
or
component
failing
based
on
some
modeling.
They
have.
It
also
then
looks
at
the
the
GIS
relational
information.
For
example,
where
is
a
component
feeding
a
hospital
or
a
school?
Where
is
another
component
next
to
an
environmentally
sensitive
area
like
a
wetlander,
a
pond
and
it
it
looks
at
and
calculates
a
consequence
of
failure.
C
C
What's
the
pipes
that
you
should
be
looking
at,
and
so
those
will
be
the
ones
that
you
will,
we
will
start.
You
know
concentrating
on
the
nice
thing
about
the
software
is
that
you
know
50
years
from
now.
The
city
will
still
expect
us
to
maintain
all
these
systems
and
future
utility
engineers
and
crews
will
be
able
to
access
this
information.
They
will
know
what
was
repaired
and
when
and
we'll
have
a
history
and
they'll
be
able
to
continue
to
prioritize
the
needs
of
that
time.
That.
A
Is
wonderful
and
that's
truly
fascinating
about
how
these
systems
can
work
together
to
really
come
up
with
those
probabilities
just
another
way
that
we're
trying
to
keep
up
be
more
efficient
and
effective
and
that
that's
some
really
that's
really
exciting
stuff
all
right?
Let's,
let's!
Let's
talk
now
about
the
different
categories
of
the
infrastructure
that
we
have
talked
about:
the
sanitary
sewer,
the
water
production
and
distribution
and
the
stormwater
sewer
city
roads.
C
B
C
Typically,
the
expected
life
of
a
system
is
determined
by
the
material,
the
conditions
in
the
ground
and
and
to
some
degree
you
know
the
weather,
the
services
harder
or
easier
lift
station
versus
a
is
going
to
be
operating.
If
it's
a
big
station
versus
a
small
station,
it
has
a
different
wear
rate.
So
so
you
really
have
to
look
at
everything
individually.
Okay,.
C
A
C
A
C
Now
prudent,
you
start
assessing
it
and
evaluating
what
it
needs
might
be.
We
have
some
water
lines
that
have
only
been
in
the
ground
for
about
30
years,
but
they're
PVC
thin
wall
pipe
and
we're
having
more
frequent
failures
with
with
that
line
system.
So
there's
an
example
of
a
30-year
pipe
actually
is
probably
going
to
be
a
higher
priority
for
us
when
we,
when
we
look
and
see
how
many
failures
we're
getting
versus
some
of
the
older
pipe
so
age
isn't
always
the
thing
that
you
know
you.
C
In
sanitary
sewer,
our
biggest
concern
is
the
approximately
60
miles
of
gravity,
sewer
lines
that
were
installed
in
the
downtown
area
in
the
20s
and
30s.
So
it's
over
75
85
years
old,
and
we
also
have
some
newer
pipe
that
was
installed
in
the
growth
time
of
Aiken
in
the
50s
that
is
approaching.
You
know
50-year
life.
A
C
More
and
is
near
the
end
of
it
stinks
expected
life.
So
again,
we
in
this
area
we're
more
concerned
about
joints.
Age
tree
roots,
things
of
that
nature,
and
so
we
need
to
do
a
prioritization
and
assessment
of
the
sewer
lines
and
there's
I
and
I
is
a
concern
for
capacity
of
the
line
as
if
you
have
joints
that
are
leaking.
You
have
breaks
that
you
don't
know
about
groundwater
rain
water
gets
into
the
storm
water
pipe
so
that
it
actually
limits
the
capacity
of
the
storm
water
lines
or
of
the
sanitary
sewer
lines.
B
A
I
think
that
that
is,
you
know,
I
think
lots
of
folks
might
just
think
wow.
You
know
their
old
pipes,
so
we've
got
to
take
a
look
at
it,
but
Wow
everything
that
you
have
to
take
a
look
at
from
materials
to
the
tree
roots
to
how
much
things
have
grown
to
the
age.
I
mean
it's,
it's
a
lot
more
complicated
than
I
really
understood.
C
Stormwater
infrastructure,
we
have
the
least
amount
of
information
on
we've,
been
focusing
our
first
attention
on
water
and
sanitary
sewer
and
storm.
However,
we
are
just
now
putting
in
the
the
drawings
for
stormwater.
We
completed
water
and
sanitary
and
now
we're
doing
storm
the
we
have
to
do
the
same,
really
evaluation
as
we
do
with
sanitary
sewer.
A
C
A
C
C
As
I
mentioned
before,
there
are
the
three
different
categories
of
roads.
The
private
roads
within
the
city
are
maintained
by
homeowners
associations.
They
are
to
be
built
to
city
standards
and
they
are.
However,
the
city
is
not
responsible
for
their
maintenance,
so
the
homeowners
associations
pay
for
their
right.
C
So
there's,
obviously
a
big
gap
in
in
funding
for
what's
needed,
for
maintenance
and
expected
road
life
should
be
in
the
17
to
20
years
and
even
longer,
depending
on
its
service
and
if
the
scissor,
and
if
we
have
85
miles
of
road
to
maintain
and
we
use
the
average
20-year
cost
today's
costs.
We
would
need
five
hundred
thousand
dollars
a
year
to
do
that.
Program.
C
We've
mostly
relied
on
capital
sales,
tax
funding
and
our
capital
sales
tax,
3
funding
provided
us
with
an
average
of
two
hundred
fifty
thousand
dollars
per
year
for
the
seven
years
the
chair,
CPS
t3,
is
currently
funding,
so
you
can
see,
the
city
is
also
under.
Funding
are
the
roads
that
we
have
so
the
city
is,
you
know,
needs
to
address
the
the
maintenance,
yeah
and
the
roads
need
to
be
evaluated.
B
C
C
A
B
B
That
is
a
traditional
model.
That's
the
way
the
United
States
is
of
approach,
road
maintenance
for
a
long
time,
and
what
we're
recommending
is
a
change
in
that
paradigm,
so
to
speak,
and
it's
coming
from
national,
the
Federal
Highway
Administration
and
some
national
organizations-
and
it's
called
a
pavement
preservation
program,
a
different
form
of
p3.
If
you
would.
B
Idea
there
is
to
try
to
extend
the
life
of
the
pavement
through
early
intervention.
You
actually
perform
maintenance
activities
which
are
less
costly
early
during
the
pavement
life
and
in
doing
so,
you're
able
to
extend
that
life
of
the
pavement
instead
of
a
pavement
lasting
20
years.
If
it's
designed
and
constructed
appropriately
on
the
initial
stages,
you
can
extend
a
pavement
life
out,
20
or
30
years
beyond
the
initial
life
I've.
B
And
a
significant
cost
savings
as
well.
One
of
the
issues
we
have
to
overcome
is
what
do
we
do
the
roads
that
are
in
extremely
poor
condition?
How
do
we
take
care
of
those
roads
in
the
short
term,
so
through
George's
asset
management
system?
It
goes
through
the
same
prioritization
type
program.
You
actually
look
at
what
you
can
do
to
those
roads
are
in
poor
condition
versus
those
roads
that
are
in
moderate
condition
those
roads
in
good
conditions.
A
B
Balance
your
expenditures
out
and
you
take
care
of
your
best
roads
first
and
then
you
slowly
work
in
the
roads
that
are
in
poor
condition.
What
happens
over
a
period
of
time
you
wind
up
with
all
good
roads.
It
may
take
a
while,
but
it
is
a
continuing
process
and
like
any
asset
management
program,
50
years
from
now,
we're
still
going
to
be
doing
the
same
thing.
Sure.
A
B
Idea
is
to
do
more
with
less
and
there's
a
lot
of
different
ways
of
taking
care
of
roads.
Scd
OT
has
also
adopted
this
program
and
they're
trying
to
implement
it,
but
it's
in
a
different
level
of
implementation
from
their
their
standpoint.
But
we're
going
to
suggest
this
to
the
city
fathers
to
take
a
look
at
and
see
if
it's
something
that
they
would
like
to
pursue
very.
A
C
There's
a
multi-pronged
approach
needed
to
to
funding.
One
of
the
avenues
we
mentioned
was
the
capital
sales
tax
and
since
approximately
the
year
2000,
the
Aiken
County
has
voted
a
special
one.
Cent
county
sales
tax
to
fund
capital
projects
and
projects
are
listed
in
the
ballot,
and
very
specific
projects
are
put
into
place
so
that
these
improvements,
you
know,
can
be
be
made.
C
B
C
You
know
I
guess,
there's
always
the
caveat
that
the
voters
don't
have
to
vote
and
pass
the
one-cent
sales
tax.
So
that's,
hopefully
that
program
opportunity
will
continue,
but
we
just
don't
know
there
there's
a
second
opportunity,
and
that
is
the
opportunity
to
borrow
money
at
very
favorable
interest
rates
from
the
state
revolving
fund.
B
C
Funds
that
come
through
them
and
then
they
administer
to
the
state
and
what
they
do.
Is
they
prioritize
water
source
storm
projects
and
will
provide
these
low
interest
loans?
You
pay
them
back
over
a
20
or
30
year
period,
so
you're
able
to
service
the
debt
over
a
longer
period
of
time.
Therefore,
you
know
your
your
rates.
C
B
C
Water,
sir
Road,
all
of
those
can
be
you
know
raised,
and
you
would
only
do
that
after
you
have
determined
how
much
infrastructure
of
project
funding
you
have
from
capital
sales
tax.
How
much
you
can
borrow
what
the
projects
you
know
that
you
have
defined
and
once
you've
done.
All
of
that
and
you
see
what
you're
going
to
be
servicing
for
the
debt.
You
see
what
you
again
for
capital
sales
tax
things
that
are
left
over
that
still
need
to
be
done.
A
C
A
A
We
some
folks
aren't
from
engineering
and
utilities
who
actually
work
with
different
segments
of
the
maintenance,
daily
maintenance
of
some
of
the
infrastructure
systems
with
Danny,
breaker
and
Troy
span
with
you
know
what
citizens
can
do
to
help
with
the
maintenance
and
Sabina
Craig
who
talked
about
the
stormwater,
and
you
know
what
that
means
in
what
citizens
can
do.
So.
This
is
a
very
extensive
issue.
A
It's
a
very
complex
issue,
and
we
really
appreciate
you
both
being
here
to
kind
of
give
us
an
overview
of
what
these
things
mean
and
what
we're
looking
at
education
is
power.
I
appreciate
the
education
that
you've
given
us
today,
so
anything
else
that
we
haven't
touched
on.
The
neither
of
you
want
to
to
mention.
Thank
you.
Better
did
a
great
job
of
covering
the
issues
yeah.
C
You
know
as
big
a
problem
as
it
is.
You
have
to
do
component
repair
point
and
repair
and
that's
the
the
challenge
of
infrastructure.
You
try
to
do
as
much
as
you
can
together,
but
it's
that
manhole
or
it's
that
water
line
or
it's
that
meter
that
you
know
is
broken
that
you
got
to
go
and
repair
so
we'll
just
keep
working.