|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
General News Sewage system inspection finds improper connections
CLARION - The effort to find stormwater infiltration in the
Clarion Area Authority’s sanitary sewer system continues, and crews have
looked at about half of the 900 sewer connections set for inspection. CAA system manager Lowell Snyder said Robinson Pipe
Cleaning is using special cameras to check for leaks, clogs, illegal connections
and other problems, and so far has checked 470 sewer laterals – the small
pipes that connect homes and businesses to sewer collector lines. Snyder said engineers were surprised to find about 100
instances where one lateral is connected to another lateral rather than a
collector line. Inspection equipment is designed to run along the inside of
a collector line, and send a probe into a lateral line; however, it cannot probe
a second lateral from the first lateral. Laterals feeding laterals can also result in disputes
between property owners regarding responsibility for a clog or other problem,
Snyder said. CAA board member Art Aaron noted that property owners are
often unaware of the lateral connection problem. Snyder said the authority should check with legal counsel
Keith Pemrick about how to deal with such problems. The inspections are revealing other problems: about 10
percent of laterals checked so far have downspouts or other stormwater drains
connected to the lateral. Another 20 to 30 laterals checked so far have problems with
root clogs, leaky clay tile lines, broken or collapsed tiles and other issues,
Snyder said. Crews are now inspecting laterals in the areas where the
worst stormwater infiltration is occurring, and could move into other areas
later, Snyder said, though the system could remove most of the stormwater by
addressing only the problem areas. The CAA system is under orders from the DEP to correct
stormwater infiltration which is causing the system to overload and release
untreated sewage flows into the Properties with sump pumps, and roof, floor and foundation
drains connected to the sanitary system can be required to disconnect such
drains and to fix leaks and clogs at the owners’ expense. Tap request Snyder said the authority has requested the DEP allow up to
20 new sewer connections. There has been no response form the agency so far, but
Snyder said he expects the request to be approved. The DEP has imposed a ban on new sewer until the overload
problems are resolved, but allows a small number of taps to be issued if the
system meets DEP requirements. Snyder said there is a “small waiting list” of people
seeking new sewer connections. Repair work on one of the treatment plant’s clarifier
tanks will be re-bid later this month, and that the process should go quickly,
Snyder said. The first attempt at soliciting bids failed when the
authority rejected all three bids received; one was late, a second did not have
the required bond and the third was unclear.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||
