Date: Fri 12-Jul-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

sewers-Edmond-Rd-industry

Full Text:

WPCA Considers Extending Sewer Lines To Edmond Rd Industrial Sites

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) has been reviewing the

practicality of installing a sanitary sewer line beneath Edmond Road to

collect domestic wastewater from industrial properties there.

Union-Camp Corp, a corrugated container manufacturer at 1 Edmond Road, has

inquired about the possibility of the town extending sewers to its plant at

the intersection of Edmond and School House Hill roads to collect wastewater

from its sinks and toilets.

Currently, there are no known environmental problems stemming from septic

systems at Union-Camp or at the Pitney-Bowes Distribution Center at 7 Edmond

Road, according to the WPCA.

WPCA Chairman Peter Alagna plans to contact Union-Camp, advising it of the

various costs it would have to cover to have sewer service extended to its

plant.

In a previous version of the town's sewer facilities plan, Edmond Road was

earmarked for sewering. However, in 1992, to hold down construction costs for

the sewer system now under construction, the WPCA dropped Edmond Road from its

sewer facilities plan.

Michael Anderson of Fuss and O'Neill, Inc, reviewed the concept of sewering

Edmond Road. Fuss and O'Neill of Manchester is the town's consulting

engineering firm on the $34.3-million sewering project.

The Fuss and O'Neill study focused on cost and construction aspects of

providing Union-Camp and Pitney-Bowes with sewer service. The longest leg of

such a sewer route would extend from the intersection of Church Hill Road and

Edmond Road to the intersection of Schoolhouse Hill Road and Edmond Road, a

distance of approximately 3,000 feet.

According to Mr Anderson, sewer service could be provided to the industrial

firms either by gravity sewers or low-pressure sewers.

Gravity Line

Extending a gravity line under Edmond Road from Church Hill Road would involve

several challenges, Mr Anderson states in a memorandum to the WPCA.

A sewer line would have to be installed just above a 36-inch-diameter storm

culvert which is buried beneath Edmond Road, just north of Church Hill Road.

Also, a low spot along Edmond Road would require a sewer line to be buried

shallower than normal, only 45 inches below ground.

Because School House Hill Road forms a ridge lying between Pitney-Bowes' two

buildings and Church Hill Road, gravity-powered sewers could be installed from

Pitney-Bowes provided that directional drilling or "pipejacking" techniques

are used to get the sewer through the ridge. Directional drilling involves

boring small tunnels for sewer pipe insertion. Pipejacking involves forcing

sewer pipe through the earth through pounding. Mr Anderson recommends using

the directional drilling technique for such a sewer line installation.

Mr Anderson estimates that gravity sewer construction costs and resulting road

repairs would fall somewhere between $430,000 and $450,000.

Also, having a gravity sewer available at the intersection of Schoolhouse Hill

Road and Edmond Road would create the potential for future gravity-powered

sewer lines in areas at higher elevations on School House Hill Road.

Low-Pressure Line

A somewhat simpler way to provide sewers to Union-Camp and the two

Pitney-Bowes buildings would be installing low-pressure sewer lines powered by

grinder pumps, according to Mr Anderson. A relatively small diameter pipe

would transport the sewage to Church Hill Road.

Installing a low-pressure sewer line, plus doing road reconstruction work

would cost an estimated $405,000 to $425,000.

The engineers also considered another way to move sewage from the

Union-Camp/Pitney-Bowes area. Low-pressure sewers would pump sewage to an

existing sewer line on The Boulevard. Hanging a low-pressure line beneath the

bridge deck which carries School House Hill Road over the Housatonic Railroad

tracks would be less expensive than pipejacking the sewer beneath those

railroad tracks, according to Mr Anderson. Such a bridge-hung installation

would cost an estimated $435,000 to $455,000.

Mr Anderson notes the various cost estimates reflect Fuss and O'Neill's

opinion on how much construction work would cost, and don't include

engineering, administrative expenses, and legal costs.

Mr Anderson writes that if the WPCA seriously considers extending a sewer line

up Edmond Road to the industrial properties, the matter should be submitted to

the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to learn whether the

town is eligible for sewer funding for the work.

"Typically, a case must be presented to the DEP justifying the need for a

sewer extension, which would include documented on-site disposal problems," Mr

Anderson writes.

Also, Mr Anderson cautions that Edmond Road is a private road.

"Permission to install sewers in this right-of-way would be required, and

there has been some discussion of the feasibility of making this a town road

as part of this process," he writes.

Health Department

According to a report on septic waste disposal at Union-Camp and Pitney-Bowes

prepared by the town health department, Union-Camp had a new septic system

installed in 1981 and Pitney-Bowes had its septic system repaired in 1988.

Neither property is currently classified as having septic waste disposal

problems. Both companies' septic systems are considered to be repairable in

the event of problems, according to the health department.

"The septic systems serving the two existing industrial facilities appear to

(be) working without signs of failure. The remaining undeveloped sites along

Edmond Road appear to consist of Rippowam soil with very little potential for

large scale development" due to poorly drained, swampy soils, according to the

department

"Though the extension of public sewers (is) not needed to abate known septic

problems, (sewer installation) would facilitate development on the remaining

parcels along Edmond Road," according to Health Director Mark Cooper.