 |
| Search |
|
|
|
|
Editorials
Having been advised by Lancaster Supervisor Robert Giza, Erie County Sewer District #4 (ECSD #4) Chairman that Kennedy Court residents would be present at Wednesday’s board meeting, a written status report correspondence was reviewed and presented to the public attendees.
Sewer District #2 (now incorporated into ECSD #4) residents had appeared before Town Board and sewer district meetings to complain about sewage backup issues. At a March ECSD #4 meeting Kennedy Court and other residents attending the meeting were told that they did not reside in the former ECSD #2, that “wet weather” (snow melt and heavy rains) was a big contributor causing “Infiltration and Inflow” issues, that the district sewer system could be compromised and that there would be a home inspection made the county to determine whether home sewer laterals were compromised and/or illegal hooks to the sanitary system existed.
Mike Quinn, Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Sewage Management, informed the Kennedy Court group that their initial investigations suggest that inflow and/or infiltration (I&I) of storm water into the sanitary sewers in the area is the root cause of the problem. According to the Division of Sewage Management (DSM), “Infiltration and Inflow” is clean storm and/or groundwater that enters the sanitary sewer system through holes, breaks, joint failures, connection failures, illegally connected sump pumps, down spouts, and footing drains, and from cross-connections with storm sewers. Most inflow comes from storm water and most infiltration comes from groundwater. High groundwater levels and storm events can contribute to excessive sewer flows.
Quinn stated that the county was to inspect their collection system and the homeowners system as well to determine compliance and operation functionality.
ECSD #4 Report
NR inspected 252 manholes (MH) finding 55 in need of repairs anywhere from adding an inflow protector to replacing frame and covers to bench and channel repairs. Those reports are being compiled on and eventually turn into work orders.
Out of 441 properties in Town District #2, 399 have been inspected. Out of those inspected, 289 were noted with violations (including 20 sump pumps, 219 perf caps, 14 low-lying vents, etc.) and have 185 have already been corrected.
Using Tracy and Adam’s help (interns), an evaluation was done on the URS report that was previously completed in March 2008. With the central maintenance crew scheduled to be in NR for all of June, specific areas that had smoke breakouts were noted to be dye tested while Thing and also areas noted for replacement or lining are on the list to be TV’D again to be consistent with our wincan rating system, and since years had passed since the TV work was actually completed.
To date 12,000 feet have been TV’D with several areas dye tested. The majority of the lines in this area are clay (VTP) and have numerous joints leaking pretty heavily from the storm sewers that sit on top of them. There are also many cracked pipes and root intrusions. From our wincan ratings (1 meaning nothing wrong to 5 meaning repair needed ASAP) there was one line noted with a 5 due to a severe broken pipe which is restricting flow, there are at least 17 other lines noted with a rating of 4 (possibly several times on a single line) and another 17 lines that had a rating of three. In general, many of the leaking joints can be taken care of with lining as the pipe is in structurally good condition.
The CM crew is scheduled to move to D6 in July, but will hopefully be coming back to finish up Town District #2 once they have Beth Park completed The house inspections will continue until they are completed and the MH repairs will begin when staff is available.
Comments
NR – Northern Region
CM –Central Maintenance
Wincan – software assessment rating program
Perf caps – replacing flat sewer vent covers with mushroom caps on six inch risers (extensions) about ground surface
Low-lying vents – vents below ground surface
District #2 residents have every right to complain about sewer backup issues, especially when their basements are in code compliance – where there are no illegal hookups to the sanitary sewer system (floor drains, sump pumps, roof downspouts, etc.). At the same time, if the sewer district is committed to correcting its breached/broken and blocked lines to eliminate/reduce infiltration and inflow issues and prevent sewer backups, they expect homeowners to commit/comply with new code requirements and eliminate their illegal sewer hookups.
District #2 residents are of the mind that they are being targeted and unfairly expected to meet new code requirements. When their homes were built in the 70’s they were in code compliance. In speaking with a District Sewage Management representative, I was informed that the new code requirements will become county-wide. Over time, homes in other municipalities will be inspected for compliance and homeowners will be fined should they not bring their sewer systems into new code compliance.
Some residents were disturbed to discover that they had to replace flat vent covers with mushroom cap covers that sat on six inch risers (extenders) while other homeowners were just replacing the vent covers with mushroom caps sans risers. According to the sewer management rep, those homeowners not extending their vents six inches about ground level are still not in compliance.
I asked and was also informed that home foundation vents were acceptable. Sidewalk sewer vents are also acceptable until such time a lateral needs replacing. The lateral will have to be rerouted to allow for the installation of a riser and mushroom cap vent.
Considering the county has discovered numerous system failures that will take time and money to correct, is it fair to expect homeowners to make like corrections in a short period of time, especially with today’s economy?
Lastly, it’s nice to know the sewer authority finally acknowledges that Kennedy Court residents were in the previously designated Sewer District #2; a district that had been recognized by the Town of Lancaster as having sewer issues for the past seven to eight years, and by residents long before that.
© Copyright 2009 by Speakupwny.com - hosted by Online Media, Inc
Top of Page
|
|
|
Editorials
Latest Headlines
|
|
Buffalo NY Web hosting By OnLineMedia, Inc
www.olm1.com
Part of
www.onlinebuffalo.com
[where: 14206]
|