Most homes passing sewer inspections

Staff

Published Wednesday, August 29, 2007

By Sarah Light, staff writer

Out of the 505 sanitary sewer line inspections conducted thus far for Albert Lea’s new Inflow and Infiltration Sanitary Sewer Line Inspection Program, only 13 of those have failed the inspection, City Manager Victoria Simonsen said during the Albert Lea City Council meeting Monday.

Though this number may seem low, in reality it doesn’t take many sanitary sewer lines with tile connections to overload the system, Simonsen said, reflecting comments made by City Engineer Steven Jahnke.

“From a staff perspective, we feel the less damage we can prevent from occurring in the future will well be worth it,” Simonsen said.

Under the Inflow and Infiltration Sanitary Sewer Line Inspection Program, all houses in the city built before 1975 — which totals about 5,600 homes — must be checked for foundation drains that are connected to the sanitary sewer.

Plumbers will conduct video inspections of each drain, and if a connection is found, it will be properly displaced.

Simonsen said of the 5,600 homes that need the inspection, 3,906 have been signed up for inspections. And the average cost for the initial inspections is about $122 — a price paid for by the city.

If any additional work needs to be completed, however, homeowners will be given the option to pay the plumber outright or have the cost assessed to their property over a five-year period.

The city has budgeted about $200,000 for the next three years to cover the initial inspections, Simonsen said.

“We are confident that the lateral inspection program will yield positive results,” Jahnke said.

Along with the program, the city’s utility department has also continued to inspect areas where its engineers see a lot of inflow and infiltration.

During the past few years, Albert Lea has completed several other sewer-related projects, including changing out manhole covers, eliminating sources of infiltration, upgrading lift stations and starting several neighborhood improvement projects.

Out of the 505 inspections performed so far, there were 10 that were not able to be completed, Simonsen noted.

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---