Date: Fri 03-Jan-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

sewers-hook-ups

Full Text:

When Sewers Are Completed, How Long Will Homeowners Have To Hook Up?

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

After all 20 miles of sewer mains are installed in the municipal sewer system

and the sewage treatment plant is operational by next fall, it will be time

for property owners with access to the sewer system to hook up to it.

Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) Chairman Peter Alagna said Tuesday

the WPCA hasn't yet decided how long property owners will have to connect to

the sewer system. The chairman said he expects giving sewer users a six-month

period to connect is reasonable.

The WPCA plans to have sewer users connect to the sewer system as soon as the

wastewater treatment plant is operational, Mr Alagna said.

The sewer system is planned for completion next October, but construction has

been running ahead of schedule, so the project may be completed a month or two

earlier than that, he said.

The WPCA suggests that neighbors organize themselves into groups to seek group

bids from drainlayers to reduce sewer connection costs, Mr Alagna said.

It's thought that drainlayers are more likely to provide a lower unit price

for a sewer connection if they can be assured of connecting, for example, 10

or 15 houses in a neighborhood instead of just one or two houses.

Depending on the complexity of a particular sewer connection, it may cost

between $1,000 and $5,000 for individual property owners to hook up, Mr Alagna

said.

The cost for a given hookup varies depending upon its complexity and the

amount of trenching and piping needed for the particular job.

Installing a sewer hookup with a short, straight run of pipe in an area with

loose soils would be less expensive than extending a long, possibly angled run

of pipe in an area with rock ledge near the surface. In certain cases,

blasting might be needed to install sewer connections in rocky areas.

Linking homes and businesses to the sewer system must be done by a registered

drainlayer. Drainlayers are expected to travel to Newtown from a wide area to

connect more than 800 homes and businesses to the system.

The cost to link a property to the sewer system will be an "out-of-pocket"

charge that individual property owners will have to bear.

Neither sewer assessments nor sewer user charges will cover sewer connection

fees.