The residents of Indian River Estates, one of the City of Chesapeake’s oldest neighborhoods, were experiencing problems with its water and sanitary sewer system that afflicted this community for years. Over the past decade, American Engineering has provided engineering design and construction administration services in this neighborhood to replace a series of systems which were past their useful life and in need of replacement.

Over a 10-year period, through several separate task orders, American Engineering designed the replacement of Pump Station #3, the aging gravity sewer system feeding this pump station, and 10,200 LF of water main.

These projects had a variety of challenges which included City-owned sewer on private property without easements, portions of the system which lie across the city boundary with the City of Virginia Beach, and the requirement to work around an aging water system owned by a private utility company.   Careful coordination between the City of Chesapeake Public Utilities Department, the community’s residents and business owners, the City of Virginia Beach Public Utilities Department, and Aqua Virginia led to the success of this project.

Through the City’s investment and American Engineering’s designs, the Indian River Estate neighborhood has 2 miles of new water main, over 3 miles of new gravity sewer main, nearly 80 new manhole structures, and a new sanitary sewer pumping station.  Approximately 350 residents and businesses have new laterals and cleanouts connecting to the new system.  When utility work was completed, failing roadways were replaced and/or overlaid with new pavement so that the neighborhood’s civil infrastructure was completely rehabilitated.