(4/19) At its April 18 meeting, the town council approved the awarding of a $4,396,897 contract to replace the water and sewer lines on North Church Street from the railroad bridge next to Mt. Carmel Church all the way up to Catoctin High School.
The project includes rerouting and replacement of the existing water and sewer lines, upgrading of the water system’s connection to the pipe serving Emmitsburg Rd. residents, removal of a dysfunctional water pumping station, and replacing the existing terra-cotta sewer pipe with modern PVC piping. New water and sewer service lines will be installed to each property.
The current galvanized iron 8-inch water main was installed in the 1960, according to Director of Public Works, Harold Lawson, and while still functional, is "reaching the end of its life expectancy. It makes sense to replace it while the road is open to replace the sewer lines. It’s better to get it all done at once that have to come back a few years from town and tear the road up again." The galvanized iron pipes will be replaced by PVC pipes with a 75-year life expediency.
The current ¾ inch water connection to homes served by the North Church Street main will be replaced by 1-inch pipes, which will support the installation of sprinkler systems—a mandatory requirement for new homes.
The big driver for the work is the decaying sewer line to reduce the influx of ‘wild water’ or ground water that has to then be treated at the wastewater treatment plant, an expensive proposition for the town. The area around North Church Street has a high water table thanks to its proximity to the Catoctin Mountains and accounts for a significant amount of the wild water that the town waste treatment plant has to treat.
Fighting wild water intrusion into the sewer system is "a long hard battle; it’s an expensive battle," said Randy Eyler, Superintendent of the town’s sewer system, "but every gallon we can prevent of wild water going into the waste water treatment plant helps—it’s far cheaper to stop wild water getting into the pipes than increase the capacity of the waste water treatment plant to treat it."
Installed in the 1960s, the sewer line is comprised of 3-foot long terracotta pipes that are connected together. Many of the individual sections have decayed to such a point that they are collapsing, allowing entrance of ground water. Ground water also enters the pipes at the connections of each pipe to the next pipe—connections that over time have become loose.
Under the project, all the terracotta pipes will be replaced with 21-foot long PVC pipes. The longer pipes, which have a life expectancy for 50 to 75 years, will eliminate six of the entrance points for wild water, while simultaneously eliminating broken pipes themselves.
Of the total cost $4,396,897, $3,442,570 will be paid by the COVID American Rescue Plan Act; this leaves the town on the hook for $954,317.
Town staff recommend, and the council agreed, to draw the money out of the town’s General Fund. During public comment, former Mayor Marty Burns recommend that the town considered issuing a $1 million bond to cover the project and use the money out of the General Fund to other road repairs that are around the town. As the money will not be spent for months, the council said they would take his advice under consideration.
