Village to test sewers in Salem Hills

VOORHEESVILLE – On a normal day, the Salem Hills sewage treatment plant typically receives between 50,000 and 60,000 gallons of wastewater, but six times as much as it can run through the system on a rainy day or a day when snow melts.

“We’re probably seeing somewhere close to 300,000 gallons a day during these really wet weather events – and that’s causing problems with the facility,” Trustee Richard Straut said at a recent board meeting in Voorheesville.

Straut said he and Public Works Superintendent Brett Hotaling had been discussing the impact of influx and infiltration (I&I) on the sewer system in the Salem Hills neighborhood for the past few weeks. “Especially in heavy rain and when the snow is melting.

To solve the problem, the Board of Trustees at its March meeting approved a contract with CT Male that would not exceed $ 30,000 to test the decade-old system.

Kathryn Serra, an engineer from CT Male who introduced the board of directors, said the problem of influx and infiltration with the system was primarily due to the age and type of system in the Salem Hills neighborhood. The rest of Voorheesville’s sewer systems work mostly with grinding pumps (which have no problems with I&I). Salem Hills is a gravity system.

Sump pumps run non-stop, which results in much excess non-hygienic flow flowing into the sewer system. This explains the significant peak flow between an average day and a peak day.

A peak day, Serra explained, is not because residents flush their toilets excessively or use their dishwashers at the same time. Rather, this is due to the non-hygienic contribution of the inflow and infiltration to the system.

Inflow and infiltration are excess groundwater and rainwater that enter a sewage system.

Rainwater – inflow – flows through holes or cracks in manhole covers, foundation drains, sump pumps and roof drainage pipes into the sewer system.

Groundwater – infiltration – enters a system through cracks or holes in pipes or through poor connections and connection errors.

Influx and infiltration are often a by-product of aging infrastructure that needs maintenance or replacement.

In recent years, the Vooheesville Public Works Department has made efforts to identify owners whose sump pumps feed directly into the village’s sewers and have those connections removed from the system – two were identified last year, the company said March 2 meeting.

Under normal weather conditions, said Straut, the plant operates at about half its capacity. “So the capacity is there, but not for all of the rainwater,” he said. “The capacity is there for what it is intended for.”

Testing

The inspection methods include:

– A video surveillance camera (closed circuit television, CCTV) installed in the sewer pipes “to get a better idea of ​​whether there are actually significant areas of broken pipes in areas with high groundwater levels that could actually cause groundwater to enter got down the sewer, ”Serra said;

– Smoke inspection, which involves pumping an odorless, non-toxic smoke from the street into the sewer system to inform inspectors whether the owner has a foundation drain or a sump pump that drains into the village system; and

– A visual inspection of the manhole covers because Serra said: “Over the years you have … [and] Manhole covers are under the sidewalk. There are actually cracks or holes in the manholes; This is just rainwater flowing straight into the sewer. “

CT Male will also be looking at ways Voorheesville can expand or improve its storm sewer infrastructure so the village can come up with a different solution when the village comes to the owners asking them to disconnect their sump pumps from the system “just their sump pump directly.” dump in their neighbour’s yard, “said Serra.

Mayor Robery Conway said: “There has to be a workable solution for them to use the system. I mean, we can’t just tell them to stop. Under no circumstances can they do anything with water itself. “

Straut said to Conway, “Conceptually we have ideas on how to do this and we just need to know where to do it and get a budget for it. And that will be part of it [Serra’s] Job.”

The village has not yet set a test date.

For the smoke test, CT Male would write a letter that the village would send to residents letting them know when the test would take place.

After testing, a public meeting will be held to explain the test results, what issues have been identified and why they need to be addressed.

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