Construction and downtown detour info: Visit the Construction Portal for more.
2023 Downtown Water System Reliability Project
Work does NOT need to happen overnight 5/16 and there will be no water impacts on this night. At this time, this project is complete.
Need an interpreter? DPW is using Telelanguage - a real time interpretation service. If you, or any neighbors want to learn more, but prefer to discuss in another language, do not hesitate to call us.
To request translations, please visit https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/DPW/LanguageServices
Beginning on 5/2, Water Resources will be working in Downtown Burlington to ensure the reliability of the water distribution network. Crews will be testing underground water valves to ensure the reliability of our vast network and in preparation for the Great Streets Main Street project (set to start in late 2023).
What does this mean for you? The long-term benefit is that this work will better inform the final design of the Great Streets project and help us avoid costly, timely, unplanned disruptions down the line in the downtown. However, during your area's stage of work, this will necessitate a water service and fire service disruption. You will have no running water for up to 6 hours overnight. There will also be increased noise and potential parking loss during this work. Look for your dates of impact on the map below. You can also click on that map to be brought to a larger, searchable version.
Landlords need to do the following: 1. Identify if they have an apartment building that has sprinkler system with no fire alarm system. Definition of a fire alarm system is as follows: A system that monitors all common areas or all areas of a building and notifies an offsite monitoring company of a fire. 2. If a sprinkled apartment building does not have a fire alarm system, then a fire watch will be required. 3. Do a building check to make sure everything is working. Exit signs and emergency lighting work, egress doors work, exit pathways and hallways are clear of any obstructions.
What if the schedule changes? Sign up for VT-Alert at burlingtonvt.gov/btv-alerts for up to date notifications on service impacts. You can also visit this page for updates.
Can you change or shorten your workplan? We have planned this work to minimize the overall disruptions to the community and during a time of least usual water usage. We need approximately 6 hours each night to test our vast network, ensure its reliability and begin to plan necessary changes in advance of the Main Street project. As that project advances to final design, we need to complete this project in a timely manner.
What else should I know? When your service is restored at 6AM, please flush a cold tap until clear as sediment may be disturbed during our tests leading to discoloration. This is normal.
What are the stages of work?
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COMPLETED:
Prep Work, 5/2 - Localized valve work with smaller scale impacts-
5AM: Valve maintenance at Main St and Pine. Parking will be removed and there will be construction noise before 7AM. -
8AM-4:30PM: Valve repair at the intersection of King St and South Winooski. The anticipated water service and fire service disruption will be to South Winooski addresses between Main & Maple
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COMPLETED:
Stage 1, 5/7-5/9 - Widespread valve testing within the Lower Main Street Area-
11:45PM - 6AM each day (ending the morning of 5/10): Valve testing which will necessitate a water service and fire service disruption. Please plan to be without water from approximately 11:45PM-6AM each day. The general area of work and service disruption will include College St to King St from Lake to Church St. Not all addresses in this general area will be impacted. Not every address with impacts will have water service interuptions the entire time. However, it is still important to plan for service interruptions for the entire time period. To see if and when your address will be impacted, please enter your address in the map below.
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COMPLETED (work does NOT need to happen overnight 5/16-17 and there will not be water impacts on this night)
Stage 2, 5/14-5/16 - Widespread valve testing within the Upper Main Street Area-
11:45PM - 6AM each day (ending the morning of 5/17): Valve testing which will necessitate a water service and fire service disruption. Please plan to be without water from approximately 11:45PM-6AM each day. The general area of work and service disruption will include the Main Street corridor between Church and S. Willard, Church St at and south of Main, S Winooski between College & south of Main, Union from College to King. Not all addresses in this general area will be impacted. Not every address with impacts will have water service interuptions the entire time. However, it is still important to plan for service interruptions for the entire time period. To see if and when your address will be impacted, please enter your address in the map below.
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This map shows the likely areas of service disruptions and their expected timing. You can also click on this map to be taken to an interactive tool where you can enter your address or business name to determine what date(s), if any, your services may be interrupted.
While unexpected, the impacts you see here may be different once valves are being operated in real time. For major changes or greater than expected service disruptions, we will send out a VT-Alert notification and post an update on this page.
We appreciate your patience and support during this critial work.
Questions?
For questions on this project or about service impacts:
Please email water-resources@burlingtonvt.gov for non-urgent questions. Someone will reply within 1 business day.
For urgent questions about your service, please call 802-863-4501 (24/7).
