Rogue Valley Sewer Services racing to clear sewers in burn zone before rain comes

PHOENIX, Ore — Rogue Valley Sewer Services is in a race with Mother Nature. The company is trying to clear 600 sewer connections in the Almeda Fire zone.

“When the weather comes and it rains a little more, it will result in a lot more dirt being washed off and a lot more water going down the sewer,” said Carl, general manager of Rogue Valley Sewer Services Tappert. “Ideally, we want to try to get this done before the rain comes.”

When the Almeda fire shot through the towns of Ashland, Talent and Phoenix, it left open pipes on the destroyed properties. When it starts raining this fall, water will wash dirt down these pipes. The debris could clog the pipes.

The process of these repairs is quite lengthy. Rogue Valley Sewer Services starts in Ashland and moves towards Phoenix.

“We’re going to find out where the service site is crossing the property line. We’re going to dig this up, clean it up, and then plug it up. This will prevent debris from being removed from the fire or any other rodents or animals that might want to get it.” ” in there from getting into the sewer, “said Tappert.

If you’ve been to the Phoenix and Talent destruction zone, you know firsthand that finding a sewer line isn’t easy.

The company uses camera equipment that it can put down the sewer. It uses the camera to locate the service site. Then the workers have to dig up the sewers. The sewers are between four and nine feet deep.

“Depending on how deep it is, it depends on how much work is required,” said Tappert.

According to Tappert, there is a nine-person team that can complete around 10 sewer pipes a day.

This is only the first half of what Rogue Valley Sewer Services worries about when it comes to fall weather. The company also monitors rainwater quality in the region.

All storm surges in the Almeda fire zone will eventually flow into Bear Creek.

“For the same reason, we don’t want dirt to go down the sewer, we don’t want dirt to go into the storm sewers because we don’t want it to be washed down the streams,” Tappert said.

To avoid this, the company has dammed inlets and erected barriers to catch debris. The barries are made of black filter fabric that allows water to run through the storm sewers but catches the debris.

When these filters are full, the company must take them out and clean them. The company then reinstalls the filter in the storm sewers.

Rogue Valley Sewer Services has also suspended billing for property destroyed in the Almeda Fire zone. The suspension came into effect on the day of the Almeda fire (September 8th).

Customers will receive a prorated September bill based on usage up to the day of the fire. Thereafter, property owners will not be billed by Rogue Valley Sewer Services until their rebuilt property is reconnected to the sewer.

According to Tappert, Rogue Valley Sewer Services will see an annual revunue hit of five percent.

“It’s a hit, but not devastating,” said Tappert.