Delays for 11th Street Reconstruction

If you ever venture along 11th Street, NW in Shaw, you are well aware of the street reconstruction underway. Though this project was very necessary given the state of the street, it has been incredibly destructive. The latest news is that the street reconstruction has just been delayed due to "utility conflicts." If all goes well, however, it should take WASA about a week from the 15th through the 21st of this month to complete their construction, and residents shouldn't experience any additional pain other than periodic daytime water outages.

WASA Hearings

WASA will be holding public hearings on the replacement of lead service lines. Earlier this year, the DC Council held hearings to address the findings of a VA Tech scientist who found that lead levels in our water spiked in areas where service lines had recently been replaced. I believe that the spikes are due to particles of lead breaking off from solder and old pipes during the replacement process. WASA now thinks that the switch from chlorine to chloramine to purify DC's water has been sufficient to hold down levels of the toxic metal delivered to most households in DC.

Since the 2004 discovery of lead levels in DC water that exceed EPA standards, WASA reports that the level of contamination has dropped. Though the amount of soluble lead in our water has been reduced, the Acting Executive Director of Alliance for healthy homes wrote in to the Washington Post recently to express her concerns about WASA's testing methods. She claims that though levels of soluble lead have decreased, levels of led particles in our drinking water have increased. She also believes that WASA's methods of testing do not reveal accurate lead levels because they do not take into account tap water that has been running for several minutes. (However, when my building was tested, the samples included both flushed and unflushed tap water.) From what limited information I've read, it's unclear whether we have a lead problem or a WASA public trust problem. Jim Graham may have a good idea in calling for independent testing of our water; results from independent researchers are more trustworthy. Another issue secondary to today's contamination is that neither our elected representatives nor WASA have addressed the issue of whether long term lead levels would be best addressed by leaving things as they are or by replacement of the service lines. Years from now will the solder and pipes degrade even more?

Still, the WASA website reports plans to replace service lines throughout 2009. This year's replacements in ANC 2F are:

1100-1299 blocks of O Street, NW
1500 block of Vermont Ave., NW

Several other replacements in our area were completed in 2007.For a complete list of currently-scheduled replacement locations, go to http://www.dcwasa.com/lead/scheduled_replacements.cfm#06completed.


If you have a particular concern about the service line replacement program, consider attending or testifying at the hearing on Thursday, May 1. Contact lmanley{at}dcwasa{dot}com or call (202) 787-2330 before 5 p.m. next Tuesday to arrange to testify.

Neighborhood Meetings

Some things to put on your calendar:

ANC Stuff
The monthly ANC 2F meeting will be held next Wednesday, February 5th.The ANC 2F Community Development Committee (CDC) meeting will be held at the end of the month on Wednesday, February 2nd. All ANC 2F meetings are scheduled to run from 7 to 9 p.m. and are held at the Washington Plaza Hotel on Thomas Circle.

ANC 1B will meet on Thursday, February 7th from 7 to 8 p.m. at the True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW.

As of today, no agenda has been posted for any of the above ANC meetings.

Streetscapes
The third of four public meetings regarding the 14th Street streetscape will be held on Tuesday, February 19th from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Studio Theater. At this session draft recommendations for the project will be reviewed. As Mr. 14th & You mentioned in "P is for Phrustrating," it is a little scary to think of all of the pending NW street projects in and around Logan Circle. One of our suggestions would be to make sure that they are all very well scheduled so that we aren't beset with DDOT projects on P Street (in Logan, as opposed to the prior Dupont streetscape), 11th Street, 14th Street, 15th Street, and 17th Street running simultaneously or very close together.

There will also be a public meeting to review design concepts for the 17th Street Streetscape Project this coming Saturday, February 2 at the United Methodist Foundry Church, 1500 16th Street, NW.

Have issues with Verizon, Pepco, or Washington Gas?
Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh is holding hearings on the quality of utility services in our city. If you want to give praise, or more likely, gripe, plan on attending the Saturday, February 9 meeting at 11 a.m. in Room 412 of the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Alternatively, there will also be a hearing during the work week at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 7 in the Council Chambers. If you are already thinking about how you'd love to rant publicly about your high home phone bill, contact Aukima Benjamin at (202) 724-8062 or abenjamin{at}dccouncil{dot}us to arrange to testify.

Less Lead in Your Water
WASA is holding meetings in each quadrant of the city to update residents on the current plans for replacing lead service lines. The NW forum will take place on Tuesday, February 26 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Fort Stevens Recreation Center, 1327 Van Buren Street, NW.

Police Department PSA Meetings
On Thursday, Feburary 14th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. you can join local citizens and police from PSA 308 (Shaw) for a meeting about crime problems and potential solutions. Meetings are held at Gibson Plaza Apartments, 1301 7th Street, NW on the second Thursday of every month.

PSA 307, which covers Logan circle, also meets monthly. The February meeting is not yet on the calendar, but you can see more information about the meetings here.

Dupont Circle Citizens Association
The DCCA will meet on Monday, February 4th at 7:30 p.m. to discuss plans for a senior village to allow older area residents to "age in place" in their Dupont neighborhood. The meeting will be held at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University Bernstein-Offit Building, 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Room 500.