Bypassing a Problem

Rain has pelted the Abingtons this summer but it came heaviest on July 31.
However, “We did not bypass,” Robert Davis, executive director of the Clarks Summit-South Abington Joint Sewer Authority, told the authority’s board Aug. 12.
When storm water threatened to swamp the Chinchilla plant, Davis and his staff pumped the excess over the ground into a holding tank for later treatment.
The plant has not had a bypass — a release of storm-water-diluted sewage into Leggetts Creek — in more than a year.
Under an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the sewer authority and the municipalities it serves — Clarks Green and Clarks Summit boroughs and South Abington Township — are developing a corrective action plan as well as updating a state-required sewage treatment plan under Act 537.
Simultaneously, the authority is working to meet federal Environmental Protect Agency mandates to reduce phosphorous and nitrogen that are released into Leggetts Creek and eventually make their way into the Chesapeake Bay.
All these factors will require the plant to upgrade and expand. That may require a bond issue — or not.
The board talked preliminarily about how it will fund the expansion.
Attorney Stephen Evers, who represents Clarks Summit Borough, asked for “a clear understanding of what’s going to be involved in this process.”
Project engineer James Elliott and solicitor Michael Donohue indicated they would accommodate Evers and other board members.
Board member Wayne Thorpe told Evers the project may qualify for funding through Pennvest, the state’s infrastructure loan authority.
       
Manhole lid pops open
A motorist drove into an open manhole on Northern Boulevard after water pressure blew the lid off during heavy rains on July 31.
There were no injuries, Davis told the authority’s board.
Insurance covered the motorist’s $430 in damages.
Davis called the incident near the Ramada Plaza Hotel “very bizarre.”
As an interim solution, the authority’s employees drilled vent holes in the lid.
Elliott said heavy storm-water flows rushing through the sewer lines and manhole chambers can cause a pressure build up. He agreed with the hole-drilling strategy as a temporary fix but indicated such pressure problems should not occur once all the corrective actions are made, along with the plant expansion.
The authority is on a timetable to make the corrections and improvements.
Davis expressed confidence that since last month’s progress meeting with engineers and officials from the three municipalities, the authority “will not get behind any more.”
Elliott agreed. “Everyone’s cooperating. It just taking a little more time,” he said.
Solicitor Donohue gave “special thanks” to Davis and the staff for working to avoid a bypass on July 31.
One of the reasons the July 31 storm caused such problems was due to rainwater filling a sewer replacement pipe along the railroad track in Clarks Summit. Davis said the pipe was capped to prevent a repeat incident.
Pioneer Construction is replacing a broken 18-inch, terra-cotta sewer line along the track between Winola and Knapp roads for $724,000.

Praise from DEP
The plant received praise from the DEP following a compliance inspection. On Aug. 6, DEP inspector Leonard Nawrocki wrote: “Excellent operation and maintenance. Plant well managed. Good control over process. Recent upgrade to return pumps allowing better control over clarifiers. Good job. Still has I/I (inflow and infiltration) issues.”
Inflow problems are caused by illegal sump-pump and downspout connections from roof gutters. Infiltration comes through cracks, breaks and sewer-pipe separations.

‘Strange chambers’
Elliott asked that his firm inspect, photograph and measure problem manhole chambers “to design a solution.”
“There are some strange chambers,” he said. For example, in one, a pipe protrudes back into the chamber, creating a baffle.
Davis said he has been trying to obtain detailed manhole chamber drawings “for years.”
Gannett Fleming will submit a proposal for the work, which Elliott estimated might cost about $5,000.
Meanwhile, the authority asked Donohue to review its contracts with the municipal engineers.