Greenbelt Guardian Work Day October 29

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Saturday, October 29, 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Gus Fruh entry, 2642 Barton Hills Drive

Dear Barton Creek Greenbelt Fans,

The season has finally changed (108 degrees in late September?!), and its time for another quarterly work day to tend our adopted greenbelt trails. This will be our eleventh work day since we began this community commitment. In writing up the Final Report for our Austin Parks Foundation grant, I calculated the number of volunteer hours we have contributed since the beginning of our Greenbelt Guardian Program in March, 2003: it is 1,316 “on the ground” work hours! At the City’s “volunteer rate valuation” of $10.65/hour, that is a value of $14,015 contributed to the care of our greenbelt. Our heartfelt appreciation of this wonderful resource is very clear.

I hope we will have a large showing of volunteers for this next work day, because we have another ambitious work plan! We will finally be able to work on replacing the blown out retaining wall at the intersection of the Gus Fruh Trail and the large swimming hole area in the creek. The charming natural cedar bench there has about an inch of soil left to hold onto, as does the Sycamore tree next to it. We plan to construct the wall with large stones harvested from the creek, combined with rebar, wire, and mortar, for flood water readiness. John Cook and Stan Ostrum will guide the creative construction process.

We’ve also got plenty of other tasks: entry trail weeding & edge repair, trailside pruning, invasive species removal, small repairs to the new trail drainage catch basins, a couple of new drainage swales, seed collection & replanting, and trash pick-up.

Please RSVP so we can plan appropriately. Be sure to wear closed heel shoes, long pants and sleeves, and bring work gloves and a water bottle. We will be providing all of the tools and materials, plus energy drinks and water and cups and lunch. PLUS some Halloween treats! You are invited to come with costume elements to stimulate even more than our usual amount of fun and goodwill –

Glee Ingram
Greenbelt Guardian Coordinator

BHNA Events and Milestones – Fall 2005

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Hi folks,

Here’s a summary of what’s coming this fall for BHNA:

1. The City of Austin’s Neighborhood Planning kick-off meeting for the South Lamar Corridor – October 1 at Unity Church, 2806 Del Curto.

2. Newsletter – the deadline for articles, ads, and other submissions is October 1. The newsletter will be mailed to members on about October 14.

3. Nominations – it’s time to think about our officers for 2006. We have several positions open and welcome your suggestions!

4. Budget – it’s also time to consider budget requests for 2006. If you would like to have a project considered, please submit your detailed proposal by October 1.

5. General meeting – our next BHNA meeting is Tuesday, October 25 at St Mark’s. If you have something for the agenda, please let me know before October 1.

Questions? Comments? Let me know. Thanks,

Debby Kalk
President, BHNA

Meet the Contractor – Barton Creek Lift Station Relief Tunnel, Sections 1 and 2

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Construction Notice
Barton Creek Lift Station Relief Tunnel, Sections 1 and 2
Wastewater Improvements Project

You?re Invited to: MEET THE CONTRACTOR

Tuesday, September 27, 2005 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Splash! Exhibit, Barton Springs Bath House
Sheffield Education Center in Zilker Park
(Adjacent to Barton Springs Pool)

Please RSVP to the ACWP Hotline at 684-3204
Refreshments will be served

Contractor: Dibco Construction
Onsite City Construction Inspector: Alexa Locklear ? 845-6581
Project Manager: Stan Evans ? 479-1636
http://www.cityofaustin.org/ca

As you may know, the Austin Water Utility (AWU) has initiated the Austin Clean Water Program to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) from the collection system. These overflows represent concerns for both community health and the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the City of Austin an Administrative Order to achieve this goal by June 2009 or face fines of $27,500 per overflow per day.

Construction begins in September 2005 and should be complete by fall 2006.

Here are the project details:

BARTON CREEK LIFT STATION RELIEF TUNNEL, SECTIONS 1 AND 2

Residents have begun to see contractor activity in the Toomey Road area this month, including fencing, mobilization, trailers and the initial excavation of a shaft. The City of Austin selected Dibco Construction as the contractor for the $9.2 million project. The contractor has agreed to stay out of Zilker Park in September to avoid conflicts with the Austin City Limits Festival. In October, the contractor will set up the work area in Zilker, just north of Barton Springs Road. Construction will end in the fall of 2006.

This project will relieve the existing Barton Creek lift station, located underground in the parking lot near Barton Springs pool. The 30-year old lift station has been deteriorated by corrosion, heightening the possibility that sewage could spill out into the sensitive Barton Springs watershed.

The project will provide 33-inch diameter fiberglass pipe installed in two sections of tunnel. A shallow tunnel will be constructed in Zilker Park for about 1,700 feet, connecting to the existing Barton Creek Interceptor. The shallow tunnel will be joined by a drop shaft to a deeper tunnel that extends for 1600 feet under Barton Creek to the shaft site off Toomey Road. The main shaft at Toomey Road in the parking lot will be about 70 feet deep, and will have a temporary lift station built within the shaft to lift the wastewater to the adjacent South Austin Outfall. The temporary lift station will be underground, and is expected to be operated until mid 2010.

A future tunnel will be designed that will connect the Barton tunnel to an existing tunnel, such that all of the wastewater flow will be conveyed by gravity to the South Austin wastewater treatment facility. This future downtown tunnel will parallel Town Lake, and will relieve the Shoal Creek lift station, located near Seaholm, as well as provide wastewater capacity for continued downtown development.

Construction of the Barton Creek Lift Station Relief Tunnel project avoids impacts to activities and developments in Zilker Park and the areas along Toomey Road. It eliminates the need for a siphon or another lift station in Zilker Park.