ESCANABA, Michigan (WZMQ) – While water main work continues throughout Escanaba, the city’s water department is making efforts to keep residents’ lawns green and healthy.

According to Jeff Lampi, director of the water and sewer department, the restoration of grass seeds in front of the homes of some residents has not met expectations.

“It’s been a problem for a long time that our redevelopment projects are just bad,” he said. “We have more weeds than grass.”

The water authority has notified its contractor, who has agreed to fix the problem at the agreed construction sites. Now, says Lampi, the authority is taking another step to put things right.

“We invested a little money in a hydroseeder,” he said. “Every job for the city requires us to use hydroseeders and give our utmost attention to restoration. We care about our customers’ gardens as much as anyone else.”

Teams plan to revisit sites requiring hydroseeding every Friday. The water authority’s goal is to achieve 90% – 100% growth.

“The work is only as good as what we leave behind,” said Lampi. “If we leave weeds, nobody will be happy with us. I think it’s very important that we leave the lawn as good or better than we found it. We won’t be able to lay turf, but we will try to restore everyone’s lawn to its original state as best we can.”

Lampi hopes to be able to complete as much reseeding as possible before winter.

The utility line work is the first of three projects valued at $20 million. The other two projects are scheduled for next year. Lampi says he is grateful for the patience of Escanaba residents, as there is a lot of digging to be done throughout the city.

The City of Escanaba Water and Sewer Departments hold public information meetings at City Hall on the first Wednesday of every month. Click here to view the full schedule of city meetings or follow the City of Escanaba Facebook page for up-to-date information on meetings.