Sewer Trunk Line Repairs Estimated at $4.7 Million
Barnesville Council failed to move an emergency main sewer trunk line repair/replacement project forward at the October 19 meeting with several members seeking more information on the potential costs involved.
Two weeks later, Bryan May and Isaac Goodson of May Engineering provided the answer – $4.7 million.
Council then suspended the rules and passed Resolution #4060 as a public emergency, bypassing the requirement to bid out the engineering and construction costs for the project.
A much more complicated engineering and construction project revealed itself once the engineers delved into matter.
“This main sewer was installed roughly in the 1920s and was probably installed by hand tools, not modern excavators and it was installed in such a way that it is near impossible to replicate with modern equipment without significant rearrangement and restructuring of the hillside,” May said.
Also noted was that “the sewer line needs to be repositioned because of some slippage and settling in some of the receiving manholes.”
The engineers estimated it would require over 1,500 feet of new service line instead of the original estimate of 1,200 feet.
“This is going to be an exceptionally difficult project to engineer and construct including rebuilding the hill, getting the sewer put on permanent ground and crossing the creek,” the engineer said.
A second problem is the gravity fed line is down grade two feet below the intake point of the treatment plant.
With a cost estimate in hand, village administrator Roger Deal is moving forward with the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) to see if there are any state funds that might help cover the cost. He also shared information on an Ohio EPA loan program but “it would be a time-consuming process.”
Shocking as the total estimated cost was, “just to bypass the existing sanitary sewer is $522,000 and that is just to purchase a pump so that your system stays operational as we build the new system,” Goodson said.
“We’re not going to give you a product that doesn’t meet EPA requirements. So taking all of those into account that is where the significant rise in cost came from.”
Also attending the meeting was Samantha Hearn and Montana Fonner of the Belmont Soil and Water Conservation District.
“The sewer line is what brings us here tonight because of the environmental impacts it is having within Belmont County,” Hearn said.
Fonner provided council members with a prepared report “Water Quality Implications of Barnesville Sewage Main Leak.”
From the report, Fonner read, “The wastewater in the Village of Barnesville is serviced by a clay tile sewage line that is over 100 years old. A series of manhole covers along the line are in failing condition and have been releasing raw sewage during rain events, polluting a near by stream, and depositing toilet paper and other debris onto private property for the last ten years.”
“Recently, a major leak of the sewage main line was discovered on property by a landowner. The sewage main line handles between 300,000 – 1,500,000 gallons of wastewater daily with seasonal fluctuations.”
Fonner outlined the water quality implications for humans, livestock and wildlife and additional cost risks if the leak is not addressed.
“Violators of water pollution laws can receive up to a $10,000 fine per violation” and if it is determined to be a felony offense that can be up to $25,000 per day for the violation.
“If the line would degrade further leading to a spill that causes mortality of aquatic life, the village could be charged by the Department of Natural Resources per morality as a result,” Fonner said.
As far as a timeframe for completing the project, Goodson said a geotech engineer will be needed “for the stabilization of the hillside because the line is at the toe, or bottom, of the hillside and all of the soils there are saturated.
“So Geotech needs done first. Environmental need done first. I’d say you’re probably looking at three or four months of that work upfront.”
Goodson also noted there are over 60 trees, many over 60-years old, that line that whole creek and they need removed. That could take two more months.
The two engineers also added that because this is part of the North Fork of the Captina Creek watershed, the Army Corps of Engineers will also be involved.
May estimated it could be up to a year before the project could be permitted out for construction.
Mike Cook, the property owner who reported the leak to Belmont Soil and Water Conservation, shared his thoughts on the situation.
“It is a disaster. It ‘s shameful, and it has been going on for years, way past 10 years,” Cook said. “The thing that brought it to my mind is when I was mowing that field and the water in the creek was gray because so much sewage was going into Captina Creek.”
“It’s ridiculous and it’s high time that it’s fixed, and fixed right. These guys (referring to May and Goodson) are a breath of fresh air.”
Cook invited one and all to come to the property and inspect it themselves.
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