The Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC) is continuing to assist the Town of Phenix in their undertaking of improvements to the town’s municipal water system.

The town was awarded $500,000 in grant or loan funding from the Virginia Department of Health-Office of Drinking Water (VDH-ODW) in 2017. The project entails replacement of water lines and a new tank with supporting equipment to stabilize water pressure within the system.

According to a Jan. 8 memorandum from CRC Community Development Planner Todd Fortune, the consulting engineer has prepared a draft revision of the Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) for the project, to address VDH-ODW concerns about the original document and narrow the scope to fit the funded project. In the memorandum he cited that a 48-hour drawdown/yield test on a well needs to be performed before the PER can be finalized and sent to VDH-ODW for review.

“I am working with (Phenix) and staff from the Virginia Rural Water Association (VRWA) to get the test on (the well) completed,” Fortune cited in the memorandum. “The town has received one quote for the test, which the VRWA rep has advised is high.”

He cited that the VRWA rep is working on getting quotes from other firms.

“I am following up with another firm to get an additional quote,” Fortune noted in the memorandum.

Fortune cited that he has worked up a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Phenix to procure bond counsel services, which will be needed to assist the town with the loan portion of the project funding.

“This service will be procured using Virginia Small Purchase Procurement procedures,” Fortune noted in the memorandum. “I have developed a list of firms to contact for this procurement, and am ready to disseminate the RFP once (Phenix) has had a chance to review it. Once the PER has been sent to VDH-ODW for review, I will coordinate with the Town and VDH-ODW staff on revising the project schedule.”