the most recent strike site on Pinyon Court<\/a>, said he has serious doubts more incidents won\u2019t follow.<\/p>\n\u201cI do not have confidence that it\u2019s not going to happen again once we reopen this. And I\u2019m not even talking about the whole city \u2014 I mean just in my neighborhood. That is simply unacceptable,\u201d McMillan said. <\/p>\n
The Pinyon Court cul-de-sac, he noted, was the very first one WOW! And subcontractors started work on in his Hidden Oak Estates neighborhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve only just started the neighborhood,\u201d McMillan said. \u201cWhat\u2019s the probability that they might hit another one? And it\u2019s not just the connections to the house. It\u2019s the water main. If you have the mains, that\u2019s a lot of water \u2014 affects the whole neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, News 6 watched as crews showed up to pour concrete over part of the cul-de-sac that was torn up to repair the broken water main last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had water rushing out through here,\u201d Jon Churchill said. \u201cYou literally could have skimboard across through the cul-de-sac.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Churchill has been watching crews tear up concrete, dig out curbs, and haul away debris. Churchill said the area being replaced has expanded to roughly 80% of the cul-de-sac, but there\u2019s still disagreement between the city and WOW! about how much will ultimately be fixed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city says they\u2019re going all the way. WOW! says they\u2019re not \u2014 they\u2019re going to do a certain 50-foot perimeter from the actual point of destruction,\u201d Churchill said. <\/p>\n
The cul-de-sac sits at the edge of a retention pond, and the water main break sent water rushing in that direction for hours. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation that we found ourselves in with Pinyon Court is we had difficulties shutting down the water valve,\u201d Watts told commissioners. <\/p>\n
McMillan noted the neighborhood was fortunate the floodwater had somewhere to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were fortunate in a sense that this particular cul-de-sac had direct access to stormwater that ran right to a pond,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it was hours of water \u2014 and that could have been somebody\u2019s home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Churchill echoed the concern, noting that homes on the lower side of the cul-de-sac narrowly avoided significant flooding.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for this drain, that house would be three feet underwater,\u201d Churchill said.<\/p>\n
Valve failures prompt citywide response<\/p>\n
To prevent a repeat of the Pinyon Court response, Watts said the city will proactively test and verify critical water valves in any area where underground utility work is planned \u2014 before work begins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to proactively exercise and verify critical water valves in areas that we know that utility undergrounding is going to take place so we can ensure that the water can be shut down in a timely manner and reduce the impact to the neighborhoods,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n
The city will document the operational status of those valves well in advance. But Watts said the plan goes further than just targeted testing. The city is now budgeting for a contractor to perform systemwide checks \u2014 testing all 20,000 valves in Longwood twice a year. <\/p>\n
Aging infrastructure adds to the challenge<\/p>\n
Watts said some strikes occur because recorded utility depths don\u2019t match actual depths, even when contractors are drilling where they were directed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur city has aging infrastructure underneath, like a lot of cities around Florida,\u201d Watts said. \u201cThat does play into part anytime you\u2019re doing utility work underground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before any underground work begins, the city activates Sunshine 811, a service that sends locators to determine exactly where utilities are underground<\/p>\n
Churchill put it plainly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not perfect, right, where you\u2019re just marking stuff with a spray can and saying, \u2018This is where a sheet of paper says a line should be,\u2019\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
McMillan said that\u2019s exactly the point \u2014 and one the contractors should already understand after repeated incidents in Longwood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been here long enough to realize that we\u2019re older, and these maps may not be reliable,\u201d McMillan said.<\/p>\n
McMillan said the standard of care needs to be higher \u2014 and that paying for damages after the fact isn\u2019t sufficient justification.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimply saying that you\u2019re going to pay for all the damages doesn\u2019t mean you just have the right to go in and inflict all the damage that you want,\u201d McMillan said. <\/p>\n
Churchill said he and his neighbors just want to make sure their cul-de-sac is fixed and that the repairs are done properly. <\/p>\n
How the city holds companies accountable<\/p>\n
Watts said anytime one of the city\u2019s utilities is struck, they will take immediate action. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile these projects bring some risk, we are actively managing that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to make sure that we understand any lessons that are learned so that we can prepare and move forward and keep our community safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watts said Longwood adopted an ordinance last year requiring fiber companies to secure a letter of credit before work can begin.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time there is infrastructure damage to our underground utilities, we\u2019re able to require payment in return for the hard work and efforts by our staff to restore services back to its residents,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n
So far, he said, the companies have been cooperative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen so far is the companies are very responsive and willing to work with the city,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n
\u201cStatutorily, we have to allow these communication companies to come in and work within our right of ways, as long as they are permitted, and they abide by the rules outlined in the permit,\u201d Watts said.<\/p>\n
What the city can control, he said, is how it holds those companies accountable when things go wrong.<\/p>\n
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