Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
Sweet Home property owners who have leaking sewer lines may be forced to fix them, but they may not have to pay for the repairs under new rules passed by the City Council last week.
The Council approved the new rules for dealing with private sewer laterals that contribute to inflow and infiltration (I&I) at its regular meeting Dec. 13. The rules give city staff authority to complete repair projects in the private laterals and new guidelines to compel property owners to repair their private laterals if they contribute to I&I problems.
As much as 50 percent of the I&I problem in Sweet Home is within the private sewer laterals that lead from sewer mains to residences, Public Works Director Mike Adams said. The council resolution setting the new rules takes the place of older rules set by ordinance.
I&I is water that leaks into the sewer system through cracks, deteriorating pipes and cross connections to storm drains. During heavy rain, I&I can overload Sweet Home?s wastewater treatment plant causing flows of untreated sewage into the river.
The city is operating under an agreement with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to reduce I&I flows. The agreement deadline was October 2007, but Adams reported to the council that it had been extended to January 2010.
High-end estimates place the cost of completely repairing I&I problems in Sweet Home at nearly $30 million, but the city has completed some $6 million in I&I reduction projects.
Under the old rules, the city could require property owners to repair their laterals within 12 months, Adams said. That mechanism holds true in the new ordinance, but the timeframe for repairs can be as little as 45 days depending on what repairs are required.
?What the ordinance changed was, if you will, basically take out that 12-month period and allow us to create a rule to implement I&I removal,? Adams said.
Before the city started its series of I&I reduction projects, residents refused to comply, Adams said.
On top of that problem, the city knew it would be doing I&I reduction projects, Adams said. In the city?s first project, the city replaced and repaired private laterals, and city staff members know that more laterals will need to be replaced or repaired.
?We knew the question would come up, ?You did their lateral. Why don?t you do my lateral?? Adams said. The city?s first project was an exception to the rule. Normally, state loans and grants cannot be used to repair private laterals.
The new rules give the city enough control over private laterals in Sweet Home without taking ownership that the city can use state or federal loans and grants for projects, Adams said. The rules provide a framework for the city to repair private laterals.
It will give the city the opportunity to say ?we?re working in this area,? Adams said. ?Here?s your choices at no additional charge to you. We can say here?s a lot of laterals that need to be fixed. They city can create a program if we come up with the funds.?
Owners will still be able to choose to make their own repairs at their own expense, and the city can compel property owners to make their own repairs if the laterals are contributing ?excessive? I&I, Adams said. ?We do have that leverage. If we feel it?s excessive, it needs to be fixed.?
Adams stressed the alternative that the rules allow the city to say, ?let us do it for you.?
Failure to complete required repairs is considered public nuisance under both old and new rules, and Adams would work with the code enforcement office to deal with non-compliant property owners.
The rules also allow the city to investigate sewer laterals, using smoke testing and other means, he said. The city has had the ability, but the new resolution makes it clear.
The resolution also gives the city the ability to repair structural problems in private sewer laterals in the public right of way without taking ownership of the laterals, Adams said. Laterals are normally the responsibility and property of a landowner all the way to the connection to the sewer main.