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$1.3 million project seeks leaks in sewer lines
(by Joan Demirjian - January 13, 2010)
$1.3 million project seeks leaks in sewer lines
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
A project is due to begin to determine the condition of sewer mains extending from the McFarland Creek treatment plant in Bainbridge.
Doug Bowen, director of the Geauga County Department of Water Resources, said the project involves sending cameras into the lines to view the insides.
The McFarland Creek plant is located on more than 60 acres off Chagrin River Road.
The goal is to determine if there are breaks and leaks and to repair them, Mr. Bowen said. The trunk line for the plant never has been reviewed, he said.
Last week, Geauga County Commissioners approved a contract for $267,965 with United Survey Inc., of Oakwood, for one phase of the work.
The project is part of a three-phase, $1.3 million plan to review the condition of the plant's trunk and sewer lines and to fix them.
Miles of lines serve subdivisions, including Canyon Lakes, the commercial area and Knowles Industrial Park off East Washington Street in Bainbridge.
McFarland Creek plant's trunk line was installed "years ago," Mr. Bowen said. In phase two, they will look at the trunk line and in phase one and three they will inspect the manholes that are brick and concrete.
"Any heavy rain event can cause water to seep into the lines," he said of the infiltration into the system if there are breaks and leaks.
That means they are treating more water, adding to the cost the average daily treatment, Mr. Bowen said. They have wanted to do the work for several years. The lines never have been inspected in this form, he said.
Normally, the plant treats 1.2 million gallons per day, Mr. Bowen said.
The plant has a capacity of 1.8 million gallons per day. It serves parts of Bainbridge, South Russell and the Auburn Lakes subdivision in Auburn.
The subdivisions in Bainbridge on sewers include Canyon Lakes, Laurel Springs and Stoneridge off Pettibone Road to the south. Tanglewood Lake and Pilgrim Village also tie into the treatment plant.
McFarland is the largest plant in the county, Mr. Bowen said. Construction of the plant began in 1976, and an expansion was completed in 2006.
It has capacity to serve the expected completion of more phases of Canyon Lakes, which is located between Chagrin River and Chagrin roads.
"We have wanted to inspect the trunk line for years," Mr. Bowen said. Now, a grant through stimulus money is allowing the department to conduct the work.
"We received $651,000 in stimulus funds," Mr. Bowen said of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The stimulus money is being processed through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the water resources department also will use Issue 2 interest-free loans, he said.
Those who are served by the plant will not see any increases to their sewer bills, which are paid every two months, Mr. Bowen said.
The McFarland Creek plant was planned in the 1970s to accommodate the building of new homes in southwest Geauga County.
It has a capacity for more than 4,500 units, equivalent to residential users. Over the years, the plant has been the focus of concerns about extension of sewers by developers.
Those extensions were seen by some as a threat to large-lot zoning and opening the area to high-density development.
Expansion plans for the plant itself were under way in the late 1990s as Geauga County officials saw the need for enlarging the plant to serve development.
The plant underwent the $6 million expansion in 2006 to bring it up to the 1.8 million gallons of capacity.
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