Business owners on West Stadium Boulevard turned off by request to limit water usage Wednesday

The businesses, including a number of medical offices, were notified about the work on Monday when neon yellow tags were posted on their doors by the city - giving them just 48 hours notice.

Rather than shut down for the day, one doctor says he’s renting a porta-potty, while another medical office is advising patients to make sure they use the lavatory before arriving for their appointments. At least one dentist office is canceling all its appointments.

Igor Kotylar, project engineer for the city, said that water won’t actually be shut off at any point. He said the businesses on the west side of Statdium, between Pauline and Suffolk, are simply being asked to use as little water as possible from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

ATTENTION: Water use will be extremely limited Wednesday on the west side of West Stadium Boulevard, between Pauline and Suffolk. And the businesses affected by it aren't happy.

Photo by James David Dickson

"We're doing a lining of the existing sanitary sewer line," Kotylar said. "We get the liners specially made for each run, and once it's made we have a very limited amount of time to install it."

A number of those business owners expressed dismay at the inconvenience, one they describe as the latest in an inconvenient last few years for businesses on Stadium Boulevard.

“It’s bad enough we’ve had construction on Stadium every summer for the last three or four years,” said Dr. Paul Turke, of Turke & Thomashow Pediatrics at 1821 West Stadium, “but then we get a notice telling us not to use water.”

Turke said he’s been at the West Stadium office for 11 years now. The last few years have been frustrating, he said, but it’s not of the caliber that would make him leave. Turke & Thomashow also have a second office in Chelsea.

His partner, Dr. Suzanne Thomashow, called the construction-related problems in the area “chronic” but, like Turke, said that the problem hasn’t gotten bad enough to leave.

Doesn’t make it any less inconvenient, especially on short notice. That stretch of Stadium Boulevard plays host to a number of offices for doctors and dentists, with the occasional attorney or massage therapist thrown in.

Turke & Thomashow will be open on Wednesday, but it won’t be business as usual. They're renting a Port-A-Potty to be placed in the parking lot and will use hand sanitizer to wash their hands throughout the day.

Community Supported Anthroposophical Medicine at 1825 West Stadium, part of the Rudolf Steiner Health Center, will keep its doors open Wednesday as well. Since toilet-flushing is off-limits, the business is notifying clients to use the bathroom ahead of time. The business will also have a basin of water which it will use for handwashing, said receptionist Brittany Cullen.

Julie Kouyate, a massage therapist at Excelsior Massage Therapy at 1829 West Stadium, said that she’s only working for part of the day on Wednesday, but that handwashing and bathroom use are both regular parts of the massage process.

“I wash my hands before I have a client and after the session is over,” Kouyate explained. “Massage promotes a lot of fluid and blood flow, and people need to be able to use the bathroom.”

She expressed skepticism about the necessity of tomorrow’s work: “I’m curious: Are they just doing this so there’s a job to do? Does this need to happen right now?” Kouyate asked.

But Ralph Silvey, D.D.S, who shares the building at 1821 West Stadium with Turke & Thomashow, doesn’t see any way around closing for the day, his wife and receptionist Shirley Silvey explained.

"We can't do dentistry and not wash our hands; it's just not sanitary", she said. "(The contractor) said to put all of our dirty water into a pail, and that they'd have someone come in and empty the pail at some point. But that's not how we do dentistry so we chose to cancel for the day rather than subject our patients to that treatment."

She estimated that closing the office for the day could cost the business between $1,000 and $3,000. Dr. Turke said that closing for the day would have cost "thousands."

What if everyone decided to use water anyway?

Kotylar said that if they were residential homes, with basements, high water use would result in sewage backup. Because these businesses are all above ground he said their chances of getting sewage backup are "much slimmer."

Kotylar said that the inconvenience will be worth it sewer lining is updated.

Last year Ann Arbor decided to address its dated sewer-lining system, Kotylar explained. Then the city’s Field Services department gave the Project Management department, where Kotylar works, a list of about 25 sites. Work started on those sites in November but should conclude before April, he said.

The city is fixing worn-out parts of the sewer lining system rather than replacing it altogether, he said. The difference between the two is several-hours-long interruptions like the one on Wednesday and several-weeks-long waits with full replacement.

“We try to minimize the interruption as much as we can,” Kotylar said. When asked why the construction wasn’t done on a Saturday rather than a business day, he said that except for emergencies, it’s unlikely the city would’ve scheduled Wednesday’s work for a weekend, that such work usually happens during normal, city business hours.

“Hopefully this will be the last interruption (on that stretch of Stadium Boulevard) for years to come,” Kotylar added.

Silvey was insistent that the situation could’ve worked out better for everyone if the businesses had been given more notice. Her view, that however necessary the sewer lining work might be, it could’ve been better planned, was common among the businesses affected.

“If we would’ve had forewarning we could’ve worked something out,” Silvey said.

“A week (of notice) would’ve been nice; that way all the businesses could’ve come together on a solution,” Silvey continued. “We’re not here on Fridays and other people have other days they’re not in. We could have coordinated a way around all of this.”

James David Dickson can be reached at JamesDickson@AnnArbor.com.