Sewer Update Project to Begin This Week

Manchester village administration notified residents this week of a cleaning and televising program planned over the next six weeks.

Village residents received a rather surprising message late last week, advising them of a "televising and cleaning" program of the sewer system throughout the village through the end of October.

The notes taped to the door indicated that the ensuing process might cause the water to gurgle in the toilet bowl, and even suggested keeping the toilet flushed with the lid closed and removing "rugs or decor at the base of the toilet."

This isn't all as ominous--or as comical--as it sounds.

According to Jeff Wallace, Village Manager, the village is in the process of receiving an asset management grant for its sewer and water systems, and the cleaning and televising program is simply the first stage of determining how to maintain and improve the existing system.

"It's all about how you care for what you have," Wallace said. "We are going to evaluate our existing system--not only the underground sewer, but the treatment plant and lift stations, and then create a plan. This will help us determine what to work on.

"This (cleaning) is actually something we already do, but it will be more in depth and more detail than we are currently able to do with our own resources."

One of the first steps in this process, which is covered by the grant, is to totally flush and televise the village's older system. Newer lines are made from plastic and will probably last a very long time; but many of the older lines clay or concrete. Wallace said that the cleaning process will help the lines flow better, and the televising process, which will go by the foot through every sewer main in the village, will help identify any potential infrastructure problems.

"If there are cracks or missing tile, we'll know where that is and how soon it might need to be fixed," he explained. "They will rate it based on accepted engineering standards and in the end, all our sewer lines will be clean, and rated, and we'll have a baseline going forward."

The project only involves sewer mains and not the lines from the main to a residence or commercial building, he added. So it's actually highly unlikely that anything will be gurgling in your bathroom in the coming weeks. However, it could happen, and Wallace said that rather than have any unpleasant surprises for the village or its residents, it was better to notify everyone of what is probably a remote possibility.

"Worst case scenario, if there were serious back ups in the system it could potentially create some problems to residents, but we have been cleaning these mains routinely for the past 10 years," he said. "It really isn't something we are concerned about, but we wanted to notify everyone of what is going on."

Village Manager Jeff Wallace is keeping residents informed about the upcoming sewer and water grant project.

Following this project, an engineering firm will be coming to the village to get all manholes and water shutoffs on a GPS system so it will be documented with modern technology.

"Rather than relying on paper maps or a 30-year employee's memory, we want to have everything accessible for the future," Wallace said.

"Water and sewer service is probably one of the most important services that we as a village provide. We all take it for granted until there is a problem, and this is one way to help us assure that there won't be a large-scale problem down the road."

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.